I believe
by Thee Slushee
Summary: Hwoarang and Asuka enter a competition to create a new band. When their friendship persists, they experience various troubles. Will they be together? HwoarangAsuka R and R!
1. The Big Day

**A/N: HEY PEOPLES! Yup, its Thee Slushee with yet another story! This one is based on one of the situations that one of my friends has experienced so yeah, BASED ON A TRUE STORY! Now some bits in the story may seem OOC but I'll try my best to keep everyone in character as well as going through what has happened in this and some bits I made up. Ok, without further adieu, to the first chapter of the story!**

**Chapter 1: The Big Day**

The monotonous alarm ring had disrupted Hwoarang's slumber. Hwoarang groaned and put the pillow over his head. Somehow, the alarm ring travelled through the pillow and into his ears. Letting out an annoyed groan, Hwoarang hammered a fist over his alarm clock, ceasing the ring immediately. He through his legs over the side of the bed, his red bangs falling in front of his eyes, muttering something about getting an alarm clock that was less annoying but such an alarm clock doesn't exist. He stood up and stretched. He glanced at his calendar and realised that today was the big day.

Hwoarang had applied for a competition to create a new band. His years of experience of being a lead guitarist had to be put to good use. He stared at the time displayed on his alarm clock. It read 7:30. He had approximately two and a half hours to get ready and go there. He walked over to his electric guitar sitting proudly on a stand on the far side of his apartment. It was the standard black and white electric but on the bottom there was a silver skull and crossbones marking with angry red eye sockets, the same marking embedded on his motorcycle. Also, on the fingerboard, the letters of his name was placed on the frets **(A/N: Its in the same material the dots on the frets are made out of k?)**.

"Today's the big day." Hwoarang muttered under his breath as he carefully took the guitar from its stand and started polishing it **(A/N: Yup, guitar polish does exist!)**.

About an hour later, Hwoarang was all set to go down to the hall where it was all happening. He was wearing a red and black vest and black pants with red down the sides with many buckles. A pair of goggles sat on top of his head, which made his hair spike back. A pair of old sneakers and black fingerless gloves completed the outfit. His electric guitar was hanging on his back, acoustic in left hand and amp plus leads and plugs in his right hand.

After a few minutes, he arrived in the parking lot. He walked up to his red Nissan Skyline GT-R, opened the boot and carefully placed his equipment in it. After he had slammed the boot shut, Hwoarang looked over his shoulder to his motorcycle, which was sitting all alone in an empty parking space, longing for a ride. Hwoarang finally tore his eyes away from his motorcycle, got into his car and started up the engine. Even though the motorcycle had more freedom, the roar of the engine made Hwoarang smirk. He backed the car up and drove out of the parking lot and towards his goal.

* * *

Asuka's radio alarm clock instantly exploded with sound as hardcore rock music blared from the speakers. Asuka immediately shot up in her bed, eyes wide with terror. A few minutes of registering that it was her wake up call, she pressed the button on top of the alarm clock and the radio had ceased. Asuka rubbed her forehead as she asked herself why she put the radio on Rock FM. Asuka got out of bed and stretched, glancing at her bedside calendar. As soon as she caught sight of the date today she shrieked.

"Oh my god! The competition's today!"

Asuka had also registered for the competition to create a band. She was an expert keyboardist and she wanted to do something with that talent. Only having two hours to prepare herself, she had some coffee and instantly, the half asleep Asuka was gone. She began fluttering to every corner of the room, practicing some keyboard, having breakfast and a shower and getting ready for the event.

During all this chaos, her phone started to ring and everything had ceased when she picked up the phone.

"Hello, Asuka here." Asuka said cheerfully.

"You ready for the big day?" It was Jin, her older brother, on the other line.

"Of course I'm ready bro!" Asuka said, holding the phone against her shoulder as she picked out what she was going to wear.

"You do realise that there will be lots of skilled musicians there and it will take hard work to make it in the band." Jin said.

"I'll jus try my best and see what happens. This is going to be so awesome! Are you going to come and watch?" Asuka asked.

"Don't think I can watch but I wish you the best of luck, Suki." Jin said in a supportive tone.

"Thanks Jin, seeya later!" With that, she turned the phone off and returned to her doings.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, she was ready to go. Asuka was wearing a pale blue tank top with bootleg jeans. A purple visor sat in her light brown hair. Asuka had to make a couple of trips from her apartment to her light blue Subaru WRX to get all her necessary equipment in her car, which took about 20 minutes. After all this, she drove away in her car and towards her goal.

**A/N: Ok, I admit, that kinda sucked. This original situation happened at an orchestra but I was like "Hwoarang is not the kind of person to play an orchestral instrument." I mean, can u imagine him playing the flute or a trumpet? Not going to happen. It took me ages to think this up. I kno, its kind of a crossover of Rockstar INXS and musical instruments but yeah…..cudnt think of anything else.I found it sooo hard to write this chapter but REVIEW!**


	2. First Impressions

**A/N: Yo peoples! Its me Thee Slushee! With the second chapter of I believe. How did I get the title? Well I asked my friend who has bn thru this for a title and she sed the first thing that came to her mind wen she thought bout it was I believe so….I cudnt come up with anything better so there ya go! Ooooh, so many reviews 4 my 1st chappie! I'll definitely reply:**

**Darth Vaderette: Thanks heaps 4 looking at the story! Luvd the comment. Cant imagine Hwoarang playing a bassoon but it was a very awesome comment! Keep reading!**

**Div: This must b the shortest review I've ever gotten! LOL its not even a full word! Hope ur next review is longer.**

**Jelly: I kno he plays the cello but does Hwoarang look like a person to play ANY orchestral instrument? No….the closest thing to cello in a band wud be bass guitar but I think Hwoarang suits lead. U kno wot happens next! Well, keep reading!**

**Xjmaster: True stories r the most dramatic so theres quite a bit of drama. Hope you'll like it. Read Evil Jin and please update! Same with the Day we met.**

**Vrit-girl: Yeah, definitely cant imagine Hwoarang playing anything remotely orchestral. He's a rock dude! Glad u liked that chapter and hope u like this one!**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: Wooh! Yeah, I had a good hard think bout this one and then I thought "meh" I'll do it! Glad u liked it and heres sum more!**

**Henred5: Yeah, I was thinking bout Hwoarang playing bass guitar but he is such a lead dude….I think…..glad u liked it!**

**Hibeki: That's awesome! Hope u like this one as well!**

**Now don't own the Tekken series, never will. Now to the second chapter!**

**Chapter 2:First Impressions**

Hwoarang was leaning against a wall inside the hall, his guitar lying next to him, scanning his surroundings. In front of him were rows and rows of chairs. Most people were just standing around them and talking, a few showing off their guitar skills. To his right, there was an ascending set of flip up seats and there was quite a bit of people sitting there, mostly talking and finally, to his left, there was a stage** (A/N: Those who liv in Auckland in NZ, this is basically the auditorium at Avondale College)**. A few of the riffs and rhythms that the showing off guitarists reached his ears and he knew that this was going to be a tough battle to get a place in the band. He noticed a teenage girl just entering the building carrying a stand in. She set it on the flip up seats and raced back outside. _Must be tough being a keyboardist_, Hwoarang smirked to himself, waiting for her to carry in the keyboard.

A few minutes later, she hauled in a keyboard that was about her size and with great difficulty; she set it beside the stand. Hwoarang took a little more notice to of the teenage girl and he thought she was really hot. He shook his head briskly._ I'm not letting stuff like that hinder my place in the competition. I've gotta win this._ Hwoarang thought to himself.**(A/N: Yeah, seems a lil un-Hwoarangy)** He instantly turned away and focussed on a man that was heading towards the stage area.

* * *

Asuka set down her massive keyboard on top of the flip up chairs and relaxed her muscles. _I should've gotten Jin to help me with this,_ Asuka thought to herself. She took in her surroundings. A lot of people were socialising and discussing this competition. Some were showing off their musical talents but she preferred not to. Asuka took notice of a red-headed man who was leaning against the far wall, his guitar beside him. _Oooh, love the whole outcast thing and he's kinda cute,_ Asuka thought to herself. After that thought, she hit herself lightly with her palm on her temple. _You came here to be in a band Asuka, don't get side tracked…and besides, if you try to become friends with him, Jin will kill him!_

"Hey everybody. I'm Dom **(A/N: HAHA peeps in NZ wud kno who this is)** and welcome to the Band Fusion competition **(A/N: Ok the name kinda sucks but I cant think of anything else!)**." A man on stage said through a wireless microphone. This immediately caught Asuka's attention and her gaze was fixed upon the man on stage. He was an American man with short, spiked up blonde hair. He wore camo cargo pants and a black t-shirt with the rock on symbol on it in white. Spiked bracelets adorned his wrists and brand new Nike sneakers were on his feet.

"The auditions for the initial round of the competition will be here, on stage. The judges will be 'round shortly. A drum kit will be set up on stage and jack in your other electrical equipment so that the whole thing can go smoothly." Dom informed.

Asuka groaned, knowing that she had to drag her keyboard up on stage. When Dom went offstage, she sighed and picked up her stand and ran on stage. She set it up on her desired location and ran back to her keyboard. Asuka took a deep breath, grabbed both sides of the keyboard with her hands, which was roughly her arm span, lifted it up and began moving cautiously towards the stage.

When she reached the stairs, Asuka reached another dilemma. _How am I going to get up these stairs? _Asuka thought to herself. _Maybe I should try going up side on? Or maybe backwards?…or I could just put it on stage from the ground! How stupid am I?_ Asuka thought. She moved away from the stairs and lifted it a bit higher. She slid it on stage and let her muscles, once again, relax. Asuka quickly leaps on stage, picks up her keyboard with difficulty and rested it on her stand. Asuka let out a sigh of relief; all that was over. Asuka then started hooking up leads to her keyboard, making them ready to jack into the speakers.

* * *

After Dom's speech, Hwoarang picked up his electric guitar, unsheathed it from its case and held it by the neck. Inside the pocket on the case, Hwoarang drew a fold up stand. He unfolded it and took both on stage. He sat the stand on the far side of the stage and rested his electric on it. He took a couple of steps back and stared at in pride. Hwoarang took a look around and he saw that same teenage girl having troubles taking up the keyboard. Maybe I should help her…nah, Hwoarang thought. She definitely looked pretty funny with such a massive keyboard. Hwoarang snapped out of that thought and started hooking the leads to his guitar. He would give the judges one helluva performance.

**A/N: Ok, so Asuka and Hwoarang noticed each other! This sounds a lot like Idol huh? Well, the NZ Idol (Yes one does exist) music was going and I suppose I just thought of it and the host was named after Dominic Bowden :P the host of NZ Idol….BTW I don't own him either, LOL! Ahem……review and tell me wot u think!**


	3. Auditions

**A/N: Heya everybody! Jinkens! I got LOADS of reviews for that chapter….ok, so 9 isn't exactly a mountain load but within the 1st 2 days of updating? I consider that as heaps. Now as I do, I'll reply to every single one of ya!**

**Vrit-girl: So glad the title "Band Fusion" wasn't so bad. Its so hard to come up with decent titles for the shows…..unless I tried "The Trofty Banda show" LOL….ahem, u wudnt get that. Anyhu, glad u liked and yeah, the girl this is based on was kinda lik that, lol!**

**Div: AHAHAHAHAHA! U are the official submitter of my most shortest and longest reviews. LOL! I totally luvd reading ur review. Yeah, the whole situation with Vrits bro will definitely happen coz I cracked up wen I heard it! I'm sooo including it! I'm not really concentrating on who actually wins……to be honest, I don't really know :P and I can imagine u crackin up wen u read Dom, (to everyone who isnt in NZ, Dominic Bowden doesn't actually look like that). Glad u liked that chap and I hope u appreciated my long as reply to ur long as review! Keep reading!**

**Xjmaster: Glad u liked this chapter. Hope u do keep on reading and reviewing!**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: Appreciate all ur comments 4 all my stories. Glad u liked last chapter and I hope u like this one as well!**

**ErikaTEKKENfan: OMG! U actually reviewed one of my stories! I totally luv urs and I hope u update soon! Yeah I kno, a bit of OOC on Hwoarang's part but I'll try to keep to the storyline and their character as much as I can ok? I don't think Asuka cud b a singer…she doesn't seem like the type to sing….keep on reading tho!**

**Henred5: Well, I'm trying to keep Hwoarang's stubborn, arrogant, self centered nature now but it'll change wen he bcomes friends with Asuka…..hope u keep reading and update ur fanfic!**

**Michelle: I knew I recognised that email wen I signed onto MSN. So happy u added me and I'm looking 4ward to talking to u online. Happy u like it and will keep reviewin in the future!**

**Jelly: AHAHAHA! Vrits has predicted that outcome. Wen u rang, u were like "SHASH HOW CUD U?" HAHA but it had to happen. Yeah I know it isn't exactly accurate but hey…I'm making a lot of this up. I wasn't talking bout a music stand, I was talking bout a keyboard and guitar stand, u kno, where u keep the instruments? Anywho, I shud b expecting more of "SHASH HOW CUD U?" in the future. Hope u do keep reading tho.**

**Hibeki: HAHA I kno! Sounds a lil 2 much like Idol and it'll sound even more like Idol in this chapter! Read ur chapter and hope u update soon!**

**MooNTeARZ: Wow, I inspired u? That's really awesome! Cant wait to read that story after this one is done! Glad u liked it! Totally apologise for the NZ stuffs…..cant really help it.**

**Stressing on the point made in MooNTeARZ's reply, sorry to all the peeps who live outside NZ for all the NZ references! I jus cant help myself. I'll try to b more…..generally universal in the future instead of being all NZ fic but the whole idol thing u shud get rite? Also, I'll not b updating in a while coz ive got exams coming up and my assignments n stuffs. ABSOLUTELY SORRY 4 THAT! I mite not even review ya guy's stories (and please understand if my review is sooooo late!)**

**Don't own the Tekken series and I god damn never will (Don comment bout this in ur review Jelly, this is a T rated fic) Now with all that out of the way, to the story!**

**Chapter 3: Auditions**

All the competitors for the competition were either hanging around in the lobby, waiting for their name to be called for their audition or walking around outside in the courtyard, socialising with the people that signed up. Hwoarang and Asuka were sitting around in the lobby, both at opposite ends since they don't know each other. Asuka had taken out a book that she had been recently absorbed in, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown **(A/N: Such an awesome book! Reading it right now….don't own the book or Dan Brown either :P)**. She was currently reading over the explanation of Antimatter and how God created everything with an opposite.

Hwoarang, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall coolly, surveying his competition. All of the competitors within his sight didn't seem very experienced. They're probably here just to make friends. Hwoarang knew they'd be easy to take out. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed within the lobby.

"Asuka Kazama, please make your way to the auditorium now."

_Kazama…why does that sound strikingly familiar,_ Hwoarang thought to himself. He saw the girl from before on the opposite end of the lobby pack her book away and enter the auditorium._ So she's a Kazama huh?Wonder how far she's going to make it in this competition?

* * *

_

Asuka took a deep breath and entered the auditorium. She had rehearsed the piece she was going to perform for the judges countless times and she hoped she was ready for this. The judges sat on the first row of chairs that were a few meters in front of the stage. There were three in total **(A/N: sounds a lil clique I kno…)**. The first judge was a dark skinned man whose origin was exotic. Short, dark brown dreadlocks were tied back in a short ponytail and one of his eyebrows was pierced. He looked pretty bored, leaning back with a serious expression on his face. Asuka instantly realised that he was the one she would have to impress. The next judge was a middle aged American man. His skyscraper blonde hair was massive. He appeared calm and content. The third and final judge was an Irish woman. She had blonde hair, which was tied back in a neat ponytail, a few wisps of hair escaping and falling in front of her face.

"Hi there," Asuka greeted nervously.

"Hello there." The American man said in a gruff voice but in a friendly tone.

"I'm Paul Phoenix, to my left is Eddy Gordo and to my right is Nina Williams." **(A/N: HAHAHA! I know…..I was thinking bout putting Kazzy as one of the judges but then it wud b too unserious. Man, this is spose to b a drama/romance! Y am I putting Tekken characters as the judges? Well they are going to be entirely out of character ok so please don't yell at me thru ur reviews!)**. Asuka waved a little. This didn't change the expression on their faces. Asuka jumped on stage, hooked her keyboard up to the speakers and brought her keyboard to the centre of the stage.

"I'm going to perform my version of 1000 miles by Vanessa Carlton." Asuka informed. The judges stared expectantly. Asuka took a deep breath and began by playing the piano intro to the song. She started to add various beats to the song and added a bit of an upbeat feel to the song. When the song finished, the judges' expressions didn't change. Asuka bit her lip, awaiting the outcome.

"Adding a bit of an upbeat to a song that is normally orchestral was a very interesting twist. I enjoyed listening to that so my answer is yes." Eddy said coolly.

"Yeah, that was very interesting to hear. Most people that auditioned today stuck to the song they were playing to every bitter detail and you decided to take that a step further and that was good. My answer's yes." Paul said.

"I personally thought that making a song like that a bit techno was a bit of a mistake…but it doesn't really matter what I think since these guys said yes so…you're in." Nina said casually. Asuka jumped with joy.

"Thanks so much!" Asuka squealed and jogged out of the stadium filled with excitement.

* * *

Hwoarang was playing Need for Speed Underground Rivals on his PSP when he heard the sound of a door slam open. Hwoarang paused the game and lifted his eyes from the screen to where the noise came from. He saw that teenage girl burst through the door of the auditorium, clenching both fists and he heard her say "YES!" that was not meant to be audible. _Looks like she's through…the judges must not be a tough audience,_ Hwoarang thought and returned to his game. After a while, a voice boomed through throughout the lobby.

"Hwoarang, please make your way to the auditorium now." Hwoarang turned his PSP off, returned it into its sleek, black cover, carefully placed it in the pockets of his cargo pants and walked confidently towards the auditorium. As Hwoarang walked in, the three judges sat stoic in the front row. Paul Phoenix introduced Hwoarang to the other judges and in acknowledgement, Hwoarang nodded briefly and leapt on stage. He connected his leads to his guitar, lifted it from its stand and slid his head through the neck strap.

"I'm going to play the guitar solo from 11:57 by Elemeno P **(A/N: SORRY! Another NZ reference. Elemeno P is an NZ band and the guitar solo in this song is really cool. Once again, sorry 2 the peeps who don't live in NZ!)**. The judges stayed silent, expecting his song. Hwoarang took a deep breath and placed his fingers low on the frets. With guitar pick in hand, he began playing a series of notes, his fingers moving effortlessly over the fingerboard. At the end, Hwoarang added his own personal flare; a nice run up the fingerboard, the notes becoming lower and lower and then a final chord was strummed. The room was silent for a little bit. To Hwoarang, this didn't sound like a good sign.

"Wow, that was awesome finger work on the guitar. You would definitely benefit the band if you were picked. I say yes." Paul stated.

"You're another musician who had personalised the song they were playing for us and that was a really nice ending. You are a talented guitarist and I also say yes." Eddy said.

"It would've sounded a bit cooler if you added a bit of distortion…still, you've got skills so I guess your in." Nina said. Hwoarang couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks." Was simply what Hwoarang had said and he walked out of the room.

**A/N: Hmmm, ok…..that was a very random chapter. HAHA yeah, Nina's the new Simon Cowell here but I'm not going to make her that mean. I watch Idol sumtimes and I do randomly make up these comments...sorry if they're not taht good! I wanna focus more on Hwoarang and Asuka.Hope that was ok and that u enjoyed it. Next chapter, Hwoarang and Asuka'll meet up so stay tuned!**


	4. Friends

**A/N: Hey hey ya'll! Its Thee Slushee back again with the 4th chapter of I believe. Yay! More reviews to reply to:**

**Hibeki: HAHA yeah, the judges…..at first I was going to make up random people but then I thought I shud include the Tekken characters!**

**Vrit-girl: MY GOD! This was more like an email than a review….now this was the longest and randomest review I've ever gotten (and heres a piece of paper that says reward on it :P) but people pleez (This goes for Jelly, Div and everyone else) DON'T GET INTO THE LONGEST REVIEW COMPETITION! Reviews r meant to tell me how my chapters were n stuff ok?**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: Glad u liked it and hope u liked this chappie!**

**Xjmaster: Well they're meeting this chapter! Well, I guess u did a mighty good job on ending Evil Jin with suspense but a sequel is needed! Cant wait to read ur other stories!**

**Henred5: Glad u liked the idea of turning Nina into Simon Cowell! Well, she seems pretty negative and serious so I thought she shud b like him except not that mean. I took ages thinking up which of the tekken characters shud be judges but in the end I came up with those 3. Update ur story!**

**Jelly: Yeps, they're meeting up in this chapter! Don't get all mad at me and ring me up with yet another "SHASH HOW CUD U?" And I told u not to comment on it! Antimatter is real! It sed so at the beginning! Well, I hope the ending will come true in real life huh. Congrats for ur excellence in Science and enjoy!**

**MooNTeARZ: Thanks for being a pal and bing ok with all the NZ references but I'll still try and b a lil more general bout it…..but the Idol thing is general enough rite? LOL Anway, glad u liked and cant wait 4 an update 2 ur story!**

**Super Kawaii Lamb: Oooh, another reviewer! Welcome to I believe and itd b coolies if u chekd out my other fics. Hope u enjoy the rest and keep reading!**

**For the gazillionth time, I don't own the Tekken series, Namco does and I never will own it until I own Namco…..which will never happen.**

**Chapter 4: Friends**

Asuka was standing in the room she was directed into for the competitors that had got past the first round. Her eyes scanned through the thick crowd of people that have managed to keep their cool and perform flawlessly. Her gaze landed on that same red headed man, leaning coolly against the wall on the far end playing his PSP. His eyes had a look of pure concentration on them as he played the game silently. _Man, he looks really cute when he's focussed,_ Asuka shook her head vigorously. _Asuka, get a hold of yourself! Don't go there, you're in for this competition!_ Asuka took out Angels and Demons again, found a seat that was against the wall and began reading.

Hwoarang was lost in the world of NFSU 2. His souped up Nissan Skyline weaved through the heavy traffic in a sprint race. There was a blinking symbol on the top right hand corner of the screen but he paid no attention to it, his mind set on winning this tough race. Hwoarang used short amounts of his tank of wet Nitrous Oxide to earn him the lead and within minutes, he had won the race. Hwoarang breathed a sigh of relief; he had tried many times to win that race and now he did. Everything was being saved into his memory stick as his car performed burnouts in the background when all of a sudden his screen went blank. The battery had died. _Dammit! I worked so hard to win that race…I don't know if I can do it again, _Hwoarang thought to himself. He plucked the earphones out of his ear, slid the PSP back into its sleek black case and placed both the earphones and the PSP in a small bag. He slung the bag over one shoulder and looked at the crowd around him for the first time. Everyone was mostly discussing the excitement of getting through the auditions but Hwoarang knew he would make it through the first round; that was the easy part.

The only other person that wasn't talking to anyone was that teenage Kazama girl sitting on a chair at the far side of the room, reading a book. _Kazama…why does that ring a bell?_ Hwoarang asked himself. Since his PSP died on him and there was nothing else better to do, he figured he should start a conversation up with her. _Besides, the girl is pretty hot,_ Hwoarang thought. He casually walked over to her on the other side of the room.

"Hey baby," A voice came from above her. Asuka elevated her gaze from the book to the source of the voice. It was that red-headed man she saw earlier, beaming a smirk that would melt the hearts of any girl. _Oh my god! It's him!_ Asuka thought to herself. She felt herself blushing for a moment but she mentally pulled herself together. _Act natural._

"What do you want?" Asuka asked coldly. _That's natural?_

"Chill," Hwoarang said, holding both hands up in defence.

"Just thought I'd come talk to you since you looked lonely all by yourself." Hwoarang said.

"And if that were true, then I'd be George Bush." Asuka replied and returned to her book.

"Oh come on, I just want to talk. Is there any harm in that?" Hwoarang asked. Asuka completely ignored him.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving." Hwoarang said and started to walk away. _Asuka! This could be the one time and one time only that you talk to him! Don't let this chance slip!_ The voice within Asuka's mind took control.

"Wait," Asuka called out. Hwoarang stopped dead in his tracks and turned around slowly to meet Asuka's gaze.

"I-I'm really sorry bout that. I don't know what came over me." Asuka struggled to say without breaking into a heap of stutters. Asuka smiled weakly. Hwoarang flashed one of his friendly grins and walked back towards her.

"Finally, you came 'round. I'm Hwoarang." Hwoarang said casually.

"Asuka Kazama." Asuka said, putting her book away and standing up.

"Don't you have a last name?" Asuka asked.

"Nah, don't have one." Hwoarang replied casually.

"Really? So you're just known as Hwoarang?" Asuka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I probably did have a last name at one point but I would never know what that was…"Hwoarang said, sounding surprisingly casual. Asuka had figured that he probably never knew his parents so she didn't want to prod any deeper than this right now.

"So, do you think you'll make it all the way in this competition?" Hwoarang asked, changing the course of this conversation.

"Well, I don't know…I'll just try to get as far as I can and if I actually do get in, then that would be awesome." Asuka answered plainly.

"Since I've got nothing else better to do in my life, I thought that I'd go for it." Hwoarang said. While the two talked, Hwoarang was straining his mind to find out why the name Kazama seemed so familiar to him.

**A/N: Ahem….yes….I kno I kinda sed that I wont b updating in a while but this was far too tempting! I kno I shud really b studying n stuffs…….man, I really hav to get outta the habit of procrastinating or it'll come bite me in the ass later I know it will……this time, I mean it! I wont be updating in a while coz I seriously need to study and do hmwk n stuffs. Well, hope u enjoyed this chapter and jus to let u kno, chapter 1 til now was all made up by me…..this wasn't part of the situation that actually happened. Some events later will b based on that but right now, its all made up. Ok, well, REVIEW!**


	5. Overprotective

**A/N: Sorry for the looooooong as wait! Oh, god! This weeks the last one b4 the exams and after this chapter, I'm definitely studying. This is the 5th chapter of I believe brought to you by the one and only, Thee Slushee! Now to my ever so awesome as reviewers :P:**

**Vrit-girl: Phew! No more immensely long reviews that really haven't got anything to do with anything :P Well, yeah, I got another "SHASH HOW CUD U?" Even tho it wasn't so bad eh? Just probably sum small things but still, I kinda saw it coming, knowing her. Glad u liked and keep on reading!**

**Jelly: HAHAHA ahem, yes……I saw it coming. Well, glad u like and I kno ur all like "UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!" So heres the update!**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: In that chapter, I tried to stick to Hwoarang's character but yeah, a lot of OOCness is heading Hwoarangs way, same with Asuka and pretty much every Tekken character involved in this story. Glad u liked and keep on reading!**

**Xjmaster: Yeah, I kno. Didn't really talk much but I'm going to accelerate this so I can get to the good parts! I cant wait til we start co-writing the story! It's going to be awesome!**

**Henred5: Thanks for being patient with me, even tho I pretty much get out of studying to update :P Totally luv ur story, even tho its sad (sniff sniff) but keep going and I cant wait 4 a sequel!**

**Michelle: Ahem…..yes…..wudnt call this soon eh? LOL U were online once….I tried to talk to u but u didn't reply :( Next time were both on, we'll talk k?**

**Lil JJ Chang-Heaven: YAY! A new reviewer! So glad u like this story. I'm more of a Xiaoyin fan, but we can pretty much write wotever we want eh? Hope u keep reviewing!**

**InfiniteEvil101: YAY! Another new reviewer! The whole Hwoarang and Jin thingeemabob will be revealed soon……as a matter of fact, this chapter:P Hope u enjoy!**

**Super Kawaii Lamb: YAY! So glad I please readers!**

**Hibeki: I kno u don't do long reviews but all I need is how I'm doing so that's awesome. Cant wait 4 an update 2 ur story!**

**MooNTeARZ: Now y on earth wud I b mad? I kno it must b pretty hectic…….makes me dread the end of high school even more :P yeah, I wudve asked Hwoarang as well if he was real…….**

**Hardyboyzfan333: Hmmm, interesting name, LOL Well, so happy that u like and hope u do keep reading.**

**Never own the Tekken series and I never will dammit! Alritey, to my story!**

**Chapter 5: Overprotective**

After all the auditions were finished, the participants who made it through the first round got a week to relax before the actual competition begun. Most have spent this week tuning up their musical skills to have an advantage against the rest but some have took the time to actually relax. Asuka decided to spend a little time with her brother. Asuka and Jin were walking around the city. The streets were crowded with people and the roads were jam packed with cars stuck in rush hour traffic. When the green walking man appeared replacing the red still man on the other side of the street, waves of people going about their own business crossed the street in a hurry **(A/N: Yeah, I'm basically describing Queen Street, downtown Auckland. All u peoples who liv outside NZ, jus picture a REALLY busy part of a city)**.

"It was so hilarious Jin," Asuka continued with her story as both of them walked casually through the streets.

"Christie was drinking some Pepsi and I don't exactly remember…but Lili said something really funny and the Pepsi just squirted out her nose! Too bad Xiao wasn't there to see it. She went back to China for a little while…during school? What was she thinking?" Asuka said to Jin. Jin just rolled his eyes. He wasn't particularly interested in the antics Asuka and her friends get up to.

"Don't you find that the least bit funny?" Asuka asked.

"Hilarious. I'm just splitting my sides and I'm about to fall over laughing my head off." Jin said with the most obvious sarcasm in the world. Asuka pouted.

"Well you don't have much of a sense of humour, do you?"

"So, how was the audition?" Jin asked, changing the subject entirely.

"Well, it went pretty well. Two of the judges were satisfied. One judge wasn't quite sure but I'm pretty sure she liked it." Asuka informed.

"Of course she did. I'll bet you'll whoop everyone's ass that plays keyboard huh?" Jin said, a smile creeping onto his face, which was very rare indeed.

"I'm not that good. There are probably keyboardists who are way better than I am." Asuka said.

"I'm sure you'll kick ass Suki." Jin said.

"Thanks heaps bro!" Asuka said gratefully.

"Hey Asuka." Someone had randomly called out to her. Asuka looked around to find Hwoarang standing outside a guitar store, holding his electric by the neck. Asuka waved back and was about to go talk to him when Jin grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her towards the intersection, Asuka staggering to keep up with Jin as he power walked. Coincidently, the red man changed to a green man as Jin approached the side and he continued to drag Asuka towards the other side of the road. Asuka was struggling in his grasp, yelling things like "Jin! What the hell are you doing!" When the two reached the other side of the road, Jin let go of her and stared at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Who the hell was he?" Jin interrogated **(A/N: HAHA, may sound familiar to some people)**.

"Jin, he's just a friend." Asuka said, trying to calm her brother down.

"A friend huh?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow. He instinctively reached into a plastic bag that was carrying a few things he had bought and took out a boot with cleats studded on the bottom. He raised it like it was a dagger and was about to run across the road when Asuka took hold of his shoulder.

"Jin! Hwoarang's just a friend. Nothing more, alright?" Asuka pleaded.

"Hwoarang!" Jin exclaimed. The name sounded familiar to him. He reached back into the same bag and grabbed the other cleat-studded boot.

"Jin!" Asuka exclaimed and knocked both the boots out of his hands.

"What the hell were you going to do?"

"I was going to kill him for hitting on my sister." Jin replied. Asuka rolled her eyes. She knew not to take Jin's word on the "kill" thing but he was known to be very over-protective.

"Look, Hwoarang's just a friend I met at the competition. I just met him." Asuka explained slowly.

"Don't go near him, Asuka. He's an asshole." Jin said, sounding like he was ordering her.

"And how would you know that Jin?" Asuka asked. Jin was silent for a few seconds.

"Can we discuss this some other time?"

* * *

Asuka and Jin were now in his car, which was a bright red Mitsubishi Evo 8 **(A/N: Yeah, I want pretty much everyone here to hav flash cars :D)**. They were exiting the city and it was silent in the car. Asuka decided to bring up the ideal topic of conversation. 

"Have you met Hwoarang before?" Asuka asked, looking at her brother in the driver's seat. She could see that he tensed when she asked him about that…but she hoped he would tell her about it.

"Yeah…do you remember that martial arts tournament I entered a few years back? **(A/N: No, this isn't the King of Iron fist stuff, this is just a random one since I cudnt think of any other way they wud meet :P)**" Asuka nodded.

"Well, he was there. Even though he was pretty good, that I've got to admit, but he was overconfident and cocky, he didn't care about anyone but himself and he was hard headed. I can see a guy like him hurting you." Jin said with no emotion whatsoever. When they reached a traffic light, Jin turned his head towards his little sister.

"I just don't want you to be hurt, Asuka. Please, don't go near him." Jin said with concern in his voice and in his eyes. Asuka looked down in thought. _I can't just not be friends with him just because Jin doesn't want me to…but he is just looking out for me and maybe I should listen to him…but Hwoarang might've changed since the last time Jin saw him, which was a couple of years back. Jin can't make my decisions for me and Hwoarang seems like a nice guy. I want to be friends with him but how's Jin gonna take it?_ Asuka looked back up at Jin.

"Jin, Hwoarang might've changed since the last time you saw him. He could be a better person than he was beforeand he seems like a nice enough guy." Asuka said. The lights turned green and his eyes were once again, fixed on the road.

"You only just met him Asuka. How do you know what kind of person he is?" Jin asked, getting slightly irritated because Asuka was defending Hwoarang.

"I…I…I just know, alright? Trust my judgement." Asuka snapped.

"Asuka, I'm serious about this. Hwoarang can seriously hurt you and I don't want that to happen to you. Just don't talk to him again." Jin continued on his argument.

"You're not our father, Jin!" Asuka blurted out. That comment left a long silence between the two. Asuka felt guilty for letting that escape her thoughts. Their father, Kazuya Mishima, was killed in a car accident along with their mother, Jun Kazama 10 years ago when Jin was 11 and Asuka was 7. They did live with their uncle after that but Jin had taken it upon himself to watch over Asuka since then. Asuka was mentally beating herself up for saying that. _God Suki! Why'd you have to go and say that! Jin gets really edgy on the topic of our parents…man, I've got to apologise._

"Jin? I'm really sorry for saying that. It just sorta – " 

"I know. Don't worry about it." Jin said in a grim tone. Asuka felt even guiltier and the rest of the ride wascomplete silence.

**A/N: Hmmmm……..not exactly a masterpiece huh? Well I do have the stress of exams n all……ok, I'll stop making up random excuses as to y my chapters just aren't so good. Not exactly a good ending but yeah, I am going to accelerate their friendship on a bit and the lil competition as well. Hey, Ive kinda figured out a bit of code…..like OC is original character and OOC is out of character……but wots AU? I've always wondered that. People, pleez tell me!Well, hope u liked that chapter coz u guys aint gonna get sum in a while……exams next week and NCEA exams after that….its gonna b a while basically. Really sorry people but once schools out for Christmas, I'll go back to my regular updates :D YAY! My bdays 2moro/2day/already passed (depending on when u read this)on November 2!So excited! Me? 15? That's sooo weird considering the fact that I act NOTHING like my age :P oh well, I can learn to drive then! But I guess I'll wait til l8er. Ok, I've droned on long enough. REVIEW!**


	6. Never Forget

**A/N: WOOOHOOOO! Junior exams r officially over! The English and Social Studies one wasn't so bad but the Maths one was hell! I hope I did ok. I still hav my science NCEA one next week but cant I take a moment to relax? Which is why I'm writin up this chapter. Sorry 4 the long as wait but u can understand right? Ok, now to my awesome as, and really patient, reviewers:**

**InfiniteEvil101: To make this story a lil more realistic and to make sense 4 later chapters, yeah, I had to get rid of the whole supernatural factor of the whole Mishima/Kazama thing (even tho it felt like I was wreckin the Tekken story…..but this story is majorly AU anyway) I can imagine Jin being really overprotective over Asuka so I added in a lil aspect of one of my friends older bros :P Well, Asuka is definitely going to keep seeing Hwoarang whether Jin likes it or not…..wonder wot happens if he finds out….later! HAH! Well, keep reading!**

**Xjmaster: HAH! If any teacher finds out I'm at at school, they'll kick me off! Yeah, even tho it was killing me, I had to get Kazuya and Jun 2 b involved in a car crash (sniff sniff)….it'll b important 4 later chapters….and this one as a matter of fact! Sorry that this wasn't exactly a speedy update but once exams r over, I'm going hardout!**

**Henred5: Thanks heaps! I needed the luck. Pretty sure I passed but I hope I did good….yeah, that chapter was all bro/sis sorta thing. Yup, sum bros can b really protective. Once again, really stink bout the whole Kazuya and Jun car crash thing! WAAAAAAHH! Ahem, anyways, glad u did like and I hope this one wont disappoint!**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: Yeah, Jin was meant to b overprotective….I know sumwhere buried within Hwoarang is a gud person and this chapter is going to prove it!**

**Super Kawaii Lamb: Yipee! Another pleased reader! So glad u like and I hope u like this one as well!**

**ErikaTEKKENfan: Awwww, thanks heaps! A review is damn good enuf 4 me! Even tho my bday is way passed, I hav yet to hav my party where I can muck around with friends! Its coz of exams eh? Y around my bday! Well, even tho I maybe 15 years old, I'm still pretty much 8 years old at heart! LOL It was stink that those people dissed ur story bcoz of minor punctuation and grammar but to b honest, I didn't even notice those things! Keep up the gud work with ur stories! Oh, and thanks 4 telling me wot AU means…..so I guess this story is completely AU!**

**Vrit-girl: HAHA I kno! She was like "SHASHIIIIIII!" The whole Pepsi thing, LOL 2 everybody out there, the Pepsi thing last chapter actually happened to one of my buds, HAHAHAHA So happy that junior exams r over. Gud luk 4 Geo and Science!**

**Jelly: So happy that u actually read this b4 u went to the talent quest!That was so awesome of u! Congrats for comin 3rd! And "Gin" is supposed to b over protective. Hope u like this chapter, I kno u kinda read a bit of it during class wen I was randomly writing it coz I was bored but the next bit u wont expect!**

**Hibeki: Will do, theres no way I'm going to miss a chapter of ur stories!Thank you ever so much for dedicating that chapter to me! Its really cool and I hope u update it soon! I kno, NCEA can b such a……ARGH! Everybody out there who is not doing NCEA is sooooo damn lucky! Well, keep reading!**

**Divya: U don't really hav 2 call me Thee Slushee. I had to mention the Pepsi thing, she needed sumthing to talk bout! Finally, juniors r finished and I kno NCEA is coming up but cant I take a lil break and update? Well, thanks heaps 4 reviewing and I can pretty much imagine u cracking up wen u read it!**

**I don't own the Tekken series and I never will. Man, that took up a page. Time to get on with the actual story!**

**Chapter 6: Never forget**

After a couple of weeks, Hwoarang and Asuka had become really close friends. They told each other about the painful history of their parents. Hwoarang was very young, around 5 years old, when his parents were murdered. He managed to escape but had to spend a few years living on the street. A man named Baek Doo San pitied him and wanted to take Hwoarang to live with him. However, Hwoarang had taken a liking to the streets so he refused Baek's offer. Baek had taught the young Korean Tae Kwon Do so he wasn't entirely defenceless and he had become a skilled fighter. Baek was the closest person to a parent he ever had since that dreaded night. **(A/N: Ya'll kno the fate of Kaz and Jun so I wont say it again)**.

Competition wise, 40 people were left after the initial round. The judges have placed everybody in 10 different groups, where they have to act as a band, work as a band and perform as a band. The judges will eliminate one band from the running after their performance and the remaining competitors will be randomly put into different groups to form 9 different bands for the next round. Since Asuka and Hwoarang were in different bands, they often hung out after practices._ Dude, this is completely unlike you. What the hell is happening to you?_ Hwoarang thought to himself as he walked towards the hall where Asuka's band was practising, turning something around in his pocket. _Why on earth did you have to get her something? Are you falling for her? No way, that can't be happening. She's just a friend, that's all._ Hwoarang took his hand out of his pocket, the item in his pocket with it. He held out his palm and a silver bead studded chain dangled from his open palm. A small silver circular locket sat on his palm, the words "Never forget" carved carefully onto the surface. Hwoarang opened up the locket and there were 2 vacant spaces, meant for pictures of Asuka's parents. _Will she even like it? I mean it's just a locket…_Hwoarang clenched his fist over the locket and placed it back in his pocket.

"Only one way to find out…" Hwoarang mumbled. Asuka had just exited the building in front of Hwoarang with her keyboard stand. She waved enthusiastically at Hwoarang and jogged towards him.

"Hey Hwoarang!" Asuka greeted.

"Hey, How'd the practice go?" Hwoarang asked. Asuka rolled her eyes.

"Still a bit of arguing about who gets the guitar solo in the song 11:57."

"Hey, I did that solo for my audition. It's a pretty tricky one to master. Took me about 4 weeks to master."

"Yeah, well, tell them that. We've only got 2 weeks!" The two started walking towards Asuka's car. When they reached the Subaru WRX, Asuka rested the stand against her car.

"Do you think you can go in and grab my keyboard? It's so humungous!" Asuka asked.

"Come on Asuka, you've managed when I wasn't here." Hwoarang said, stifling a laugh after remembering her trouble with the keyboard on the first day of auditions.

"Please?" Asuka pleaded, hands clasped together and looking up at Hwoarang with puppy dog eyes. Hwoarang sighed.

"Alright alright." Hwoarang ran back to the hall and in half the time Asuka would've taken to get the keyboard to her car, he came casually strolling making it seem so easy.

"Well, Mr Tough Guy, you're going to have to get used to that coz you're going to be doing it for a long time." Asuka said as Hwoarang approached her, giggling after the comment. Asuka opened the boot and placed the keyboard stand in there carefully. Hwoarang dumped the keyboard in.

"Hey! That's a really expensive keyboard you know. Don't break it!" Asuka scolded.

"Relax, keyboards are built for that sort of thing." Hwoarang said casually. Asuka glared at him and slammed the boot shut. Before she got into the driver's seat, Hwoarang stopped her.

"Hey Asuka…it was really awesome of you for telling me about what happened to your parents…it must've been really painful for you to bring back those memories. **(A/N: OoOoOoO a sensitive side of Hwoarang….)**" Asuka looked down for a second and looked back up at Hwoarang.

"It must've hurt you even more when you told me about your parents." Asuka said.

Hwoarang shrugged. "I don't really remember my parents that much…what kind of people they were, what they looked like…you do though and it must've been so hard to let go." Asuka was staring at Hwoarang in awe. He never seemed to be like this in the time that they've been friends. Hwoarang shook his head briskly.

"Anyway, before things get any more…bleaugh, here…" Hwoarang dug into his pocket and held out the locket. Asuka stared at it in surprise and held her hand underneath it. Hwoarang let go of it and it fell into Asuka's palm. Asuka brought her palm closer to her to examine the locket.

"Never forget…" Asuka whispered the words on the cover of the locket.

"It's a locket." Hwoarang said. Asuka looked back up at him.

"You can put a picture of your mother and father in it so you won't forget them." Hwoarang said calmly. Asuka's expression turned from surprised to touched.

"That's so sweet Hwoarang! I didn't get you anything though." Asuka said, feeling guilty that Hwoarang got her something and she didn't get her anything.

"Don't worry about it." After this, Asuka just threw her arms around him. This took Hwoarang aback but he hesitantly put his arms around her.

"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much!" Asuka said.

**A/N: Awwwwww…….Hwoarang is soooooooo sweet! I'll bet nobody saw that coming eh? But savour this moment of sensitivity on Hwoarang's part, ur going to hate me soon afterwards…..Hope that was good and hope u enjoyed. REVIEW!**


	7. Anonymous Note

**A/N: Hey everybody! Its Thee Slushee back yet again for the 7th chapter of I believe. YES! Exams are finally over…..for me……so I can try to keep a regular update sorta thing, despite the mound of homework I probably will get. Holy Crap! I got heaps of reviews for this one and this makes me so incredibly happy so I'll answer every one of them!**

**MooNTeARZ: Woah, like a few minutes after I updated it, u sent a review! God that was mighty fast. So glad u liked it! I know Hwoarang was WAY OOC then but there actually was a locket involved in the actual story and I had to make up how Asuka would get it. So happy u liked it!**

**Vrit-girl: So happy u liked it. I shudve asked the real person how she got the locket eh but that chapter made Hwoarang not such a bad guy after all……but trust me everybody, ur going to hate me soon for what he will do…..not in this chapter but in the near future. Yeah, we shud make her do puppy dog eyes! Glad u liked and keep reading!**

**XxxTekkenBabexxx: Now I know ur like the hugest Hwoarang fan so please don't attack me with pitchforks and flaming torches when this certain event happens! Glad u liked the story so far tho and hope u keep reading!**

**Xjmaster: Yeah, Hwoarang seems like such a jerk..there must b a soft side underneath that massive ego of his, LOL. His soft side must eventually come out tho, (ahem, NAMCO! ahem)**

**EbonyMiko: YES! A new reviewer! It may seem a lil corny but I had to get a locket in there sumwhere….it was part of the real thing that actually happened. So happy that u read this even tho ur a huge Hwoarang/Julia fan. I don't mind that pairing much but I like Hwoarang/Asuka…..gives sumthing for Hwoa to piss Jin off, LOL Hope u keep reading!**

**ErikaTEKKENfan: Yeah, I think Hwoa and Asuka are gud 2gether…lol, luv the random stars!**

**Hibeki: U will most definitely hate me in the near future….wot Hwoa will do is pretty…….wont say nemore, LOL I hope I did gud on my science. Howd ur science go? Hope it wasn't too hard…..update ur stories soon!**

**Henred5: Well….yes…..soon……maybe…..not really…..jus read and find out later!**

**Jelly: LOL I wudve imagined that the real life dude wasn't really like this. And I kno that's not how it happened but I had to make sumthing up and bsides, everyone was like "Awwwww" so that's cool. Now that the science is over, ur gonna b like "UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE" everyday at skool now eh? LOL Hope u like!**

**Super Kawaii Lamb: Glad I impressed yet another reader! Hope u like this chapter**

**Astral Slayer Asuka: I bet a lot of people didn't see that coming…..yeah, I was like "Awwwww" wen I finished writing it but trust me, stuff aint gonna go so smoothly soon. Keep reading tho!**

**Darth Vaderette: Yeah I kno……I was kinda randomly writing it during science since I had nothing else better to do.…..cudnt b stuffed studying eh….and ur "kitty" pic was really awesome! 2 bad certain people kinda ruined it…..I've already sent u the version I'm putting in the comp. Hope its alrite….we'll all help each other with the short stories and may the better writer win!**

**My my my, that took up heaps! Theres like heaps of reviews for me to reply to and I think the authors note is becoming longer than the actual chapter, LOL**

**I don't own the Tekken series and I never will. Now to the story!**

**Chapter 7: Anonymous note**

7:00 AM. Right now, band members were giving each other wake up calls to start rehearsing for the performances tonight. The song choice for everybody was Elemeno P's 11:57.

"RISE AND SHINE ASUKA!" The over-enthusiastic guitarist player shouted as she threw a pillow at Asuka's head. Asuka's quick reflexes caught the pillow without the pillow touching her and she threw it back at her without even opening her eyes. The pillow smacked her in the stomach. Her jaw dropped.

"You should teach me how to do that some time." She continued in her hyperactive manner. Asuka groaned and sat up on her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"It's something you sorta develop when you've got a big brother like mine." Asuka said sleepily, recalling the times Jin had thrown numerous cushions at her to get up and go to school, when it should've been the other way round.

"Well, the rehearsal's today so we had to get up bright and early to start practising. Come on!" After that, she skipped out of the room. Asuka had a puzzled expression on her face momentarily but then she shook her head a little and reluctantly got out of bed.

"Dude, I've been playing guitar longer than you have, let me do the solo." The tall Indian guitarist argued **(A/N: This things gonna b multicultural man!)**.

"Oh no no no no…you may have played longer but I've had experience performing. I'm also better at the solo so I'm so doing this." The definitely shorter European brunette retorted.

"How do you know that you're better than me?"

"It's obvious isn't it?"

The fight between the two has always occurred in rehearsals and it gave Asuka and the drummer pounding migraines every time. Asuka had just about enough of it.

"Shut up both of you!" Asuka screamed. The two stopped yelling at each other and stared at Asuka.

"The rehearsal's today and we haven't got the solo sorted yet?" Asuka said with clenched teeth.

"Yeah man, do rock, paper, scissors or something. I don't know." The annoyed drummer suggested, twirling a drumstick on his right hand.

"Why don't we try playing the song twice with one of you doing the solo each time and see which one sounds better all right?" Asuka suggested. The two guitarists looked at each other and reluctantly nodded.

"Ok, from the top!" The drummer bellowed, slamming his drumsticks together 4 times before the song started. Before the drummer was going to slam down on the drums, Dom walked in the room.

"Hey guys, how's practice coming along?"

"Well, we're just finally sorting out who'll do the solo for the performance." Asuka said.

"Ouch, the performance is today!" Dom said.

"Yeah but we'll get it sorted." The brunette guitarist replied confidently.

"All right, well without a vocalist, this song just wouldn't be the same right?" Dom asked rhetorically. He received a few nods from the band members.

"Well, I've taken the liberty to get vocalists for each of the bands and here's your vocalist." Dom said with a smile and pointed towards the door. A blonde girl who appeared in her late teens entered the room. She wore a green tank top with orange outlining the top, an old pair of jeans and some relatively new Puma sneakers. A snow-white headband sat on top of her silky blonde hair completed the outfit.

"Lili?" Asuka exclaimed as soon as her friend walked into the room.

"Hey Suki!" Lili greeted.

"Guys meet your vocalist, Lili." Dom introduced. Lili waved at the rest of the band members.

"You're getting a vocalist now to challenge your skills to combine the vocals with your song. Have fun." With that, Dom left the building.

"Ok…we've got a vocalist now…" The Indian guitarist commented.

"Let's get to it!" Lili exclaimed.

* * *

After relentless rehearsals, everyone in the band decided to take a couple of hours of R and R to make sure that everyone was rested up for the performance tonight. Asuka and Lili were walking out of the hall and towards the locker room where they kept their belongings while they were rehearsing. This building contained numerous halls for rehearsing all kinds of performances and there were locker rooms so that they didn't interfere with the rehearsals.

"Man, that was intense. We had a heap to get through today and most of the rehearsals are filled with arguments on who gets the solo." Asuka said as the two entered the locker room.

"You're telling me! It can be hard to work with those two." Lili agreed. As Asuka and Lili were heading towards their bags, Asuka noticed that hers was open.

"Oh crap, someone must've gone through my bag." Asuka said and rushed up to her bag and searched it.

"Is anything stolen?" Lili asked.

"Strangely…no…but, I found this piece of paper." Asuka unfolded the piece of paper and they both gasped. It was a note. It read:

_Dear Asuka,_

_I don't want to tell you this, but I'll tell you anyway. I have seen you around the rehearsal halls for the competition but you've never even noticed me. I've even played music with you but you've never talked to me or even said hi. I've noticed that you hang out with that Hwoarang guy and I don't like it. I like you and I can tell that this Hwoarang guy is just using you. Forget about him and come to me._

_xoxoxoxox_

Asuka and Lili stared at the note for a few seconds and then stared at each other.

"This is so creepy." Asuka finally said.

"Looks like you've got a secret admirer on your hands." Lili teased.

"I'm serious, this is really creepy. I wonder who it could be." Asuka said.

"It could be anyone in this competition!" Lili said.

"By the way, who's this Hwoarang guy?" Lili asked, a smirk forming on her face. Asuka got the message and waved both of her hands in front of her.

"It's not what you think Lili, it's not what you think." Asuka said.

"Have you got a boyfriend that you haven't been telling any of us?" Lili teased.

"He's not my boyfriend, we're just friends." Asuka said quickly to avoid suspicion but it only increased Lili's curiosity.

"My my, I would've never thought that Asuka would be the type of girl to get a boyfriend." Lili continued to tease.

"Cut it out Lili!" Asuka said in an annoyed tone.

"I was just teasing Suki. Do you have any idea who it is?"

"It said that I've played with him but I've only played with people in this band…but it can't be either of them coz we were rehearsing."

"Maybe you played with him before this competition?" Lili suggested.

"Doubt it…didn't do a lot of group work…guess we'll just have to wait and see." Asuka stated. She stuffed the note into her bag, zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder. When Asuka was ready to go, she turned towards Lili with a serious expression.

"Please don't tell anyone about this." Asuka said.

"Of course I won't. You tell them when you're ready." Lili said, a friendly smile reaching her features.

**A/N: Uh huh………right……..interesting aint it? I wanted time to fly by a lil quickly to get to the gud stuff! I kno, seems kinda made up but FACT: The note thing actually happened! The note? I tried to remember bits of it but I was obviously not that successful. Sorry if that kinda suckd but yeah, wotcha gonna do? Hope that wasn't too lame and it was a pretty good read for about a weeks rest on this story, LOL. REVIEW!**


	8. Performance and Elimination

**A/N: Howdy ya'll! I'm super sorry that I didn't update any sooner! I jus haven't been online for bout a week or 2, which is completely unlike me since I used to live on the internet. Jus hyped up bout my 25 day-late bday party to celebrate, well……my bday and the end of exams. Was playing Singstar 80's (a really awesome as party game even if u weren't even born in the 80's like me) and that's a heap of fun, especially pass the mic. Most of us didn't even kno the songs but we just randomly sung. Its tricky is the coolest rap song! And also the other reason why I didn't update any sooner is coz 2 of my friends were….rich enough :P…to get me….FFX AND FFX-2! I'm really addicted to those two now, even tho I've played X b4. Also there was sum bug on my comp which delayed things. Sorry for that and I hope ya'll like this chapter!**

**Chapter 8: Performance and Elimination**

6:50 pm. The performance was in 10 minutes. Everyone in the competition was waiting in the lobby, going through the song structure with their band members, making sure everything is right. Vocalists for the bands were warming up their voices and practicing the song for tonight. Asuka's band was huddled together close to the exit discussing their song.

"Ok, so we've decided yesterday that I'm doing the solo tonight." The Indian guitarist stated. The European guitarist pouted and crossed her arms.

"Hey, it's nothing personal. I've just mastered it before today and you haven't." He added in after seeing her expression.

"Lili, did you get the lyrics practiced?" Asuka asked Lili.

"Dom told me that I was performing this song for a band a couple of weeks back so I had more than enough time to perfect it." Lili said confidently.

"Alritey, you're counting us in right?" The European guitarist asked the drummer.

"Yup, it's pretty standard." The drummer said casually.

"You can't count us in too fast or we'll all end up going to fast." Asuka reminded the drummer.

"So, everyone ready for this?" Lili asked the band members. She received a few nods from the team.

"This is probably the last time we might be playing together so go out there and perform as if it's the last gig you'll ever play!" Asuka said enthusiastically.

"You betcha!" The European guitarist chimed with equal enthusiasm as Asuka. Lili stuck her right hand into the middle of the huddle. Hands piled on top of it from the other musicians.

"We are totally going to kick ass today." The Indian guitarist said with a smirk on his face.

"Definitely." Lili agreed. Everybody rose their hands and cheered. At that moment, Dom opened the double doors leading to the auditorium.

"Would band number 5 please make their way to the auditorium now." Dom shouted over the thick murmur of people. Asuka heard it and sighed.

"That'll be us. Good luck everyone." Asuka said. The band members started wishing everyone good luck and made their way towards the auditorium. Amongst all the conversation going on in the lobby, a few words reached Asuka's ears.

"Good luck Asuka." Asuka turned around to see Hwoarang standing with his band with a thumbs up gesture. Asuka returned the gesture and waved as she entered the auditorium.

As the band entered the auditorium, the three judges sat stoic on the centre seats a couple of rows back. Asuka and her band leapt on stage and took a few minutes to hook up their instruments. Lili took the cordless mic from the stand and moved the stand aside. When everything was ready, Lili looked back at the drummer. The drummer nodded and smashed his sticks together four times. The auditorium's silence was broken immediately as the instruments sprung to life. A few power chords with a bit of distortion were strummed by the two guitarists, the drummer kept a consistent beat and Asuka's keyboard was playing the role of a bass guitar, with some random beats of her own added in. Lili was waiting for her queue to start singing and when it came, she put the microphone a few centimetres away from her mouth.

"Another day slips away and I gotta wonder. Lying here on my bed do I even care?"

"Everyday seems the same, seems so paint by numbers, Hey Hey, eh eh eh"

"Early bird catches the worm is what the people tell me. Put on a face, put on a suit and then you'll be someone."

"I live for fun, live for one, live for little wonders Hey Hey, eh eh eh."

"It's 11:57…and I'm running out of time (Running out of time! Sung but Asuka and the European guitarist)"

"So pick me up and turn me on (Pick me up and turn me on! Sung by Indian guitarist and the drummer)"

"Out of luck I'm out of my mind."

"Broken man with a pen and a piece of paper. Rolls the dice takes a hit but he didn't care."

"Takes a card, takes your lies. Takes your name and number Hey Hey eh eh eh."

"Given what I've got, got a lot, got a situation. Taken from the top, at the top it couldn't be so bad. Lost the shirt and tie 'cause the style doesn't qualify me. Hey Hey eh eh eh."

"It's 11:57…and I'm running out of time (Running out of time!)"

"So pick me up and turn me on (Pick me up and turn me on!)

"Out of luck I'm out of my mind."

At this point, the guitar riffs started to soften until it was just the drumbeat and the keyboard.

"Another day slips away and I gotta wonder. Another day slips away and I gotta wonder, another day slips away and I gotta wonder. (1!) Another (2!) day slips away (1,2) and I gotta (3, GO!)."

The Indian guitarist stood on a button on his effects pedal and started to perform his ultimate guitar solo. There were soft guitar chords in the background and the drumbeat is still going strong. His solo was incredible. Lili was just letting go and having a lot of fun on stage.

"It's 11:57 (HEY!)…and I'm running out of time (Running out of time!)."

"So pick me up and turn me on (Pick me up and turn me on!)"

"Out of luck, I'm outta my mind (Running out of time!)"

The song continued through the chorus one more time and then finished on a strong guitar chord strum. After the final bang from the Crash cymbal had faded, the judges started to speak.

"Now that was a really good performance for 2 weeks working with complete strangers." Eddy said coolly. This statement made everyone glance at each other.

"I have heard that there was quite a fuss about who did the guitar solo but I'm glad you guys were able to pull it together to make the performance reasonable." Paul said. The Indian and the European looked a little embarrassed.

"I wasn't that convinced that this was a band. I could feel this being talented musicians simply playing together. You need to come together and act as a band." Nina pointed out. Some band members looked a little ashamed but this definitely was a good performance.

"Thank you for the performance group 5." Paul said and dismissed the band. As the band was exiting the auditorium, Dom had approached the 5.

"How did your performance go?" Dom asked.

"Well, I reckon it went pretty good actually. I would be pretty pissed if we got eliminated." The European guitarist commented.

"Yeah, it was awesome that we did finally decide who was doing the solo." Asuka added.

"That was really good, I reckon we rocked!" The Indian guitarist said with a confident smirk planted on his face.

"Alright, well you've gotta hand out here until all the other bands have performed. Then the judges will announce their verdict." With that, Dom walked away and informed another band that they were up.

* * *

All the bands have performed. Everyone was waiting in the lobby, discussing the possibilities of their band getting eliminated. Since the vocalists didn't matter in this competition, most of them went home but Lili stayed to support Asuka and her band. After a gruelling 15 minutes of intense discussion, the judges emerged from the auditorium and all the chatter in the room ceased immediately.

"Well, I can tell that all of you have performed to your best ability and there was a lot of great performances today." Paul started.

"You did make this a truly difficult decision for us." Eddy picked up where Paul left.

"But unfortunately, 4 people will be leaving us today." Nina stated. Everyone started whispering to each other, worried about the results of this.

"We are very sorry and we hope you did enjoy your time in this competition." Paul said solemnly.

"The band leaving us today is…" At this moment, Asuka and her band were holding their breath.

"Band 3." Asuka and the band breathed a sigh of relief. The unfortunate group that was Band 3 shook hands with their team and said their goodbyes. They wished everyone else good luck and exited the area. Dom, who was standing there the whole time, decided to take the stage.

"Congratulations to everyone that has passed this round. Go get some well earned rest and we'll see you in a few days time, where you'll all be put into new groups and a new song will be selected."

**A/N: OoOoOoOo I decide to stop it there, LOL. Well incase u were wondering, the song Lili was singing was 11:57 by Elemeno P. Its an NZ band and yeah, the lyrics are kinda weird but the actual beat and guitar stuff of the song is really awesome and the guitar solo rocks! Sorry to all u peeps outta NZ! The next song will be a bit more…well known so stay tuned!**


	9. Rearrangement and a Second Note

**A/N: Yo peoples! Thee Slushee back with yet another chapter of I believe, the story that's based on a true story…well…ok, the whole band competition thing I made up but the musical aspect of it is part of what really happened. I was yet again absorbed in the world of FFX-2 and X so I am soooo sorry for the delayed updates. Schools almost out soon and chances r that I wud b practically living off FFX and X-2 but I'll try to update if its getting too weird playin them 24/7. Thanks to every single person that reviewed, u guys rock!**

**I don't own the Tekken series and I never will. Now, to the story!**

**Chapter 9: Re-arrangement and a Second Note**

The first round of the competition was over. The remaining groups were now randomly switched around to form 9 completely different bands, ready for the next song. This time, Asuka and Hwoarang were in the same band along with a blonde drummer and a Canadian bassist **(A/N: Hey, its really hard thinking up all these nationalities of the random characters)**. All four of them were ready to work together and put forth an excellent performance, which will be performed in another 2 weeks time. They were standing by their instruments in the rehearsal hall, waiting for Dom to come by and tell them what song they're performing. The buzz of all the conversation going on ceased when Dom walked into the room with yet another familiar face.

"Miharu?" Asuka said in disbelief.

"Hey Suki. Guess what? I'm going to be the vocalist for your group this time!" Miharu exclaimed with enthusiasm. Dom chuckled at her comment.

"Everybody get that? This here is Miharu. She's your vocalist this time. The song you're going to play is Bring Me To Life. Practice hard people and I'll see you in 2 weeks." With that, Dom left the rehearsal hall **(A/N: Yay! A song everyone knows! And one of my favs frm Evanescence)**.

"Miharu, I thought I had a gigantic chess tournament coming up. What are you doing here?" Asuka asked.

"You don't look like the type of person to play chess." The drummer commented while twirling a drumstick.

"It's actually a lot more challenging and fun than it looks. Gets your brain going." Miharu replied to the drummer, tapping a finger on her temple.

" I know, the big as tourney that the officials will select someone to be a part of the Olympiad team. That's in about 2 months, I can handle a couple of weeks worth of singing." Miharu said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Ok…now that that's settled, lets start getting this song ready." The bassist suggested.

"Okay! I say that you guys should learn the song before I sing along." Miharu suggested, sitting on the floor cross-legged and looking up at everyone else. As much as everyone didn't agree on Miharu just sitting there instead of practising like the rest, they knew she was right so they reluctantly complied and began to learn the song.

* * *

After the practice Asuka, Miharu and Hwoarang were heading out of the rehearsal hall. Asuka had gone to get her backpack from the locker room in the main hallway so that left Miharu and Hwoarang standing outside waiting for her. This was the perfect time for Miharu to bring up another subject. 

"So Hwoarang…Asuka has told me a lot about you. You seem like a pretty cool guy." Miharu said, a sneaky smile spreading across her face.

"Well, I guess I am." Hwoarang agreed, smoothing his hair down.

"What do you think of her?" Miharu asked.

"Well, she's a nice girl…but kind of short tempered." Hwoarang said.

"Do you think you could become…closer to her?" Miharu asked. Hwoarang knew where this was leading.

"No girl can resist a chick magnet such as myself so yeah, I think I will." Hwoarang said coolly. Miharu crossed her arms sceptically.

"Don't be too confident, Asuka isn't easily swayed by cocky people and don't forget that older brother of hers." Miharu stated. Hwoarang thought for a moment. _Kazama…that's it! She must have an older brother I know…but where from?_

"Also, you've gotta get the approval from all of her best mates, including me." Miharu said.

"Well, do you approve of me so far?" Hwoarang asked.

"Not exactly but let's see if I change my mind in the next couple of weeks." At that moment, Asuka exited the locker room with her backpack and a piece of paper in her hand. Asuka was urgently gesturing for Miharu to come and talk to her.

"Excuse me a moment." Miharu said and made her way towards Asuka. Hwoarang shrugged, _Must be some girl talk.

* * *

_

The two re-entered the locker room and Miharu turned to Asuka.

"What's up?" Miharu asked. Without saying anything, Asuka thrusted the piece of paper towards Miharu. As Miharu read the first line, her eyes widened. It was a poem.

_Don't say you're lonely,_

_Coz you're my only_

_Our time together will be easy_

_Things will be sunny_

_I won't be lazy_

_Without you I'll go crazy_

_Coz you're my baby_

_Yes, you're my lady_

_xoxo drummer _

Miharu turned back to her friend, eyes wide.

"This is a very bizarre poem." Miharu stated.

"You're telling me. Who on earth could be giving me these? I got a note last week too." Asuka said, looking freaked out.

"Well, we've got a lead at least. The guy's a drummer. Could it be the drummer in our band?" Miharu suggested.

"It can't be, we were practicing the whole time." Asuka said.

"Well, there aren't too many drummers in this competition so it can be a process of elimination." Miharu said confidently.

"Hate to burst your bubble but I can't exactly go up to them and be like – " Asuka put on a prissy girl tone "Hey! How are you? Are you by any chance the person giving me these notes?"

"You could reply to the note. There's no doubt that this person would probably come next time so just arrange to meet somewhere and talk to this guy." Miharu said.

"Should I tell Hwoarang about it? I'm not sure how he'll react to this." Asuka asked.

"I'm not too sure about it. If he finds out about this before you tell him, he could go insane but he does seem like a person who can be very rash. Just keep it quiet for the moment and tell him later ok?" Asuka took a deep breath.

"Okay…"

"Now let's get back out there. Hwoarang must be getting a little bit suspicious now."

**A/N: Well there you go. Yup, the poem in this chapter was the exact poem that was used in the real life situation. Now that I typed it out, that poem really is kinda strange. Not really the least bit romantic…..seems kinda possessive….anyhu, I hope you liked this chapter! A little more Hwoarang and Asuka than the last chapter but there has to b occasional performace chapters coz of this competition thing. Another thing, I wont b updating or reviewing for a while coz as I sed b4, my comps got sum sorta bug on it and its gonna get looked at soon so sorry bout that. Hope u liked this chapter and tell me wot u thought of it by...REVIEWING!**


	10. The Conflict begins

**A/N: Hi peoples! Well, my comp…..hasn't been looked at yet! Its being delayed even further coz my dad's friend is waitin 4 sum1 2 come back frm another country and then format it coz then it wud b much faster. So that means 2 things….1: U guys will be hearing more from me and 2: More comp problems 4 me :P but the latter doesn't matter right now (hey that rhymed :D). What matters now is another chapter of I believe from Thee Slushee (oooh, a half rhyme :P why am I feeling so poetic 2day?)**

**I don't and never will own the Tekken series, Namco will always be its supreme ruler. Now to my chapter.**

**Chapter 10: The Conflict begins  
**

"So, do you wanna hang out after practice today?" Miharu asked as she stepped out of Asuka's car the next day for practice. Asuka lifted a lever near the driver's seat to open up the boot and then slammed the door shut.

"Sorry Miharu, I kinda have plans today." Asuka said in an apologetic way. She opened up the boot. Asuka took out the stand and lifted one side of the keyboard. Miharu lifted the other and the two started walking sideways towards the rehearsal hall.

"Do these plans consist of Hwoarang by any chance?" Miharu asked, a sneaky grin appearing on her face.

"We're just going to see a movie, no big deal." Asuka said quickly.

"Sure it isn't Suki." Miharu teased. It was silent for a few seconds.

"You like him, don't you?" Miharu said is as more of a statement than a question. This caught Asuka by surprise and she couldn't help blushing.

"Well…he's a great guy…" Asuka started.

"Aha! I knew it!" Miharu exclaimed.

"Well, you did make it hideously obvious from the start since you always talked about him." Miharu added afterwards.

"But I don't blame you…he is kinda cute." Miharu said, giggling a little afterwards. The two finally reached the rehearsal hall and met up with Hwoarang, who helped set up Asuka's keyboard.

"So, is today still on?" Hwoarang asked Asuka.

"Of course it is. I attempted to hang out with her but she isn't shaken easily." Miharu answered sarcastically.

"What movie should we see?" Asuka asked.

"I reckon you guys should check out King Kong, directed by THEE Peter Jackson." Miharu suggested. **(A/N: Yup, another thing we here in NZ are proud of. The New Zealander Peter Jackson!)**

"Yeah, the graphics on King Kong are amazing." Asuka said. Hwoarang shrugged.

"There really isn't anything else worth watching so sure." After the bassist and the drummer arrived, the practice had commenced with Miharu, once again, sitting on the floor criticising the music.

* * *

Asuka was at home, taking the necessities to the movies. Hwoarang was waiting outside in his car while Asuka stuffed everything into a bag._ Phone,_ _wallet…wait, check if everything's in it: ID, driver's licence, and money_, Asuka recited out mentally as she flicked through her wallet. When she was satisfied, she threw it into her handbag. Her eyes fell upon the two notes she had received. Asuka hesitated a little bit. _If Jin found those, I'll be dead…and whoever wrote these of course._ Deciding not to take any chances, Asuka took the notes, stuffed them in her handbag and hurried out of her apartment.

* * *

Hwoarang and Asuka were in queue to buy tickets.

"Alright, we'll head on over to the 2 o'clock screening." Asuka stated as she read the electronic board with the movie times that sat on the wall over the counters.

"Don't forget the essentials; 2 large popcorns, a frozen coke, an ice cream plus some starburst lollies." Hwoarang reminded with a goofy smile.

"Does your stomach have an end to it?" Asuka joked.

"Yours is a whole lot bigger than mine. Remember when you downed 20 cups of noodles at that Chinese place?" Hwoarang said.

"Hey, I was deprived of breakfast and lunch." Asuka said, laughing at that memory.

"Hey Hwoarang, do you think you can pay for my ticket? I gotta go." Asuka asked, handing her bag over to Hwoarang.

"Where?…oh, right. Sure." Hwoarang said, taking Asuka's bag.

"Thanks heaps." With that, Asuka hurried off. Hwoarang took out his wallet in his pocket and zipped open Asuka's bag to take her wallet out. He saw her wallet and 2 pieces of paper. _Well what are these…wait, I can't see them. These are Asuka's._ Hwoarang took out Asuka's wallet and caught an xoxo in one of the notes. _What the…_Hwoarang took out the notes and skimmed through it. His eyes widened after reading them.

When Asuka returned, Hwoarang was standing there with his arms crossed. He looked mad about something.

"Is something wrong?" Asuka asked Hwoarang with worry. Hwoarang lead Asuka to a less crowded corridor near the cinema.

"Is there any particular reason why you didn't tell me about these?" Hwoarang asked, holding up the notes that were in her bag. Asuka gasped. She had completely forgotten that the notes were in her bag.

"Well I…you see…I'm not sure - " Asuka struggled to find a way to explain it to him.

"I should've known all this time! How could I think you were different? You're just like the rest you slut!" Hwoarang hissed. Asuka was shrinking before him, scared out of her mind.

"I didn't do anything – " Asuka began, tears started forming in her eyes.

"You know what? I shouldn't be wasting any frickin' time on you. You're just a no good two-timing bitch!" With that, Hwoarang threw the notes at her and stormed off. Asuka was frozen to the spot for a few seconds and then tears started falling freely from her eyes. She fell to the ground and sobbed, picking up the notes and then ripping them to shreds. Asuka picked herself up and started power walking out of the cinema and towards the car park. Anger was brewing inside her, how could Hwoarang do this to her? The passer-bys were staring at her as they walked passed but she didn't pay any attention to them. All she was thinking about was how much she hated Hwoarang.

Asuka was out on the car park and realised she didn't have a ride home. Asuka took out her phone and was about to call Lili when she realised how far away she lived. _Lili lives too far out from here…Xiao lives the closest. I'll fill her in about the whole situation._ She speed dialled Xiaoyu's number and awaited her voice.

* * *

Xiaoyu was at home, bumming around on the couch. Her hand was automatically reaching into a bag of cheezels and stuffing them into her mouth as she watched reruns of the OC. Xiaoyu's popcorn ringtone started ringing throughout the apartment. She lazily reached out for her cellphone and looked at the caller ID. She flipped it open and held it to her ear.

"Hey Suki." Xiaoyu said, her mouth half full of cheezels.

"X-Xiao…can you…pick me up? I'm at…the cinema carpark." Asuka's voice sounded on the other end. Her voice was shaky, she was hiccupping and sniffing. All these things pointed to one thing: she was crying. Xiaoyu immediately swallowed the cheezels in her mouth and instantly sat up.

"What's wrong Suki?" Xiaoyu asked in a worried tone.

"I'll fill you in later…can you please…come now?" Asuka asked.

"Sure, I'm coming." Xiaoyu said quickly and snapped her phone shut._ What happened to Suki?_

**A/N: OoOoOoOo! Now this is the juicy stuff. I'm not sure what exactly was sed in the actual situation between guy n girl, I just made it up but the basic concept was right. Was it dramatic? Or was it a pathetic attempt at drama? I feel soooo bad doing this to Hwoarang but it had to happen. I don't blame u Hwoarang fans (looks at Hibeki and xxxTekkenBabexxx) if u come up to my house with torches and pitchforks. All I can say in my defenceis that I'm SORRY! Hope u liked the chapter anyway. Tell me thru...REVIEW!**


	11. Trouble deepens

**A/N: Yo peoples! Ya'll thought this fic was dead eh? I thought I'd leave this story for a while and finish up Phoenix Tail since there was a lil social crisis…but now its alrite. Do not fear! I'm definitely continuing with this story!**

**Hehe, had to re-read the story to see where I was (and I think u guys shud re-read it too). Also had to ask friends how the actual thing went down again P Kinda slipped my mind. Anyhu, to the…er…(cheks the last chapter) 11th chapter of I believe.**

**Chapter 11: Trouble deepens (sorry bout the crappy title)**

Xiaoyu pulled up next to Asuka, in her bright red Toyota Celica, at the car park. Asuka angrily ripped open the door, sat inside and slammed the door without saying a word. There was a tense silence within the vehicle, only slight hiccups coming from Asuka.

"What happened, Suki?" Xiaoyu questioned, concern evident in her voice. Asuka faced her Chinese friend, her eyes bloodshot.

"Y-You know that…band competition I…signed up for?" Asuka asked, sniffing at regular intervals. Xiaoyu opened the glove compartment and took out a few tissues. She handed them to Asuka and she had taken them with gratitude. Asuka dabbed the small tissue at her eyes and blew her nose into it.

"What about the competition?" Xiaoyu asked.

"I met this guy there…" Asuka trailed off.

"Has our lil Suki found a man?" Xiaoyu teased.

"No!" Asuka bellowed. Xiaoyu stared in shock at Asuka and fell silent. The sudden sound of a car horn erupted from the car behind them, making both of them jump. The driver behind them was shouting some insults while constantly shoving the horn on the steering wheel. Xiaoyu instantly shifted the stick into drive and moved quickly out of the way of the angry driver. They emerged from the car park and drove away in complete silence.

"So, what exactly happened?" Xiaoyu asked again, breaking the silence as she drove along. Asuka sighed. If she was going to tell Xiaoyu what had happened, she might as well tell her everything. She told her about Hwoarang and how Jin didn't like him very much. Then she explained the notes she was receiving and finally, how Hwoarang had reacted to it when he found out. Awkward silence filled the vehicle as Xiaoyu processed this new information.

"That Hwoarang guy is such a jerk!" Xiaoyu shrieked as the two neared an intersection. She snapped her head towards Asuka.

"He didn't even hear your side of the story; what was really going on." Xiaoyu continued to rant. Asuka nodded solemnly, wiping the newly formed tears away. Xiaoyu felt sympathetic towards her friend.

"How bout we have a Girls Night at my place, to take your mind off this whole situation?" Xiaoyu suggested. A weak smile came to Asuka's face.

"Thanks, Xiao. You're the best." Asuka thanked with an appreciative smile. One of Xiaoyu's infectious smiles appeared on her face.

"We could invite the others over and hire loads of DVD's and stay up all night watching them!" Xiaoyu's mind overflowed with last minute plans.

"Let's go to my place and tell everyone to get their butts here. This is gonna be awesome." Xiaoyu stated. The traffic light that was suspended over the intersection flashed green and the two teenagers proceeded towards Xiaoyu's apartment.

* * *

The credits of the final DVD were ascending on the 15 inch screen of Xiaoyu's TV. Xiaoyu was sitting on the floor, pretty much consumed in her sleeping bag, blowing her nose into a piece of tissue and adding it to the growing pile on her right.

"Now that...was a sad movie." Xiaoyu said sniffing, reaching for yet another piece of tissue. Miharu snatched the tissue box away from her and stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Xiao, that was the Iron Giant!" Miharu exclaimed incredulously **(A/N: Hehe, my random sense of humor. The Iron Giant was a pretty sad movie…I shed a few tears during that movie. I'm just exaggerating it here for Xiao :P)**.

"That's a pretty sad movie, Miharu." Christie commented, lying on the couch.

"Why did we even get that movie out?" Asuka asked the group. Lili shook her head.

"No, the real question is...why is Christie sleeping on the couch while we all lie on the ground?" Lili stated matter-of-factly, looking up at Christie.

"It's coz I'm your superior." Christie joked, pointing to herself.

"Nah, it's coz she bagsed **(A/N: U know wen u bags sumthing? Hah, just realized that bagsed wasn't a word in the English language.)**it before any of us did." Xiaoyu explained, causing Christie to stare at Xiaoyu.

"I preferred my reason," Christie stated, laughing afterwards.

"So Xiao, why'd you spring this random sleepover on us?" Lili asked Xiaoyu. She shifted her gaze to Asuka with a questioning look and Asuka nodded. Xiaoyu sighed and faced the rest of her friends.

"Asuka has some guy trouble." Lili and Miharu instantly gasped.

"What did he do to you?" Lili and Miharu exclaimed in unison. Christie had a confused look on her face, eyes darting to everyone in the room, making a realization.

"Was I the only one who didn't know that Asuka was going out with someone?" Christie questioned.

"Well, I wasn't technically going out with him…" Asuka started but then trailed off.

"His name's Hwoarang. He seemed like an okay guy but now…argh!" Xiaoyu explained but then hammered her fist down on the pile of tissues, causing it to fall apart and scatter.

"Hwoarang is a guitarist from the band competition that Asuka entered." Lili explained to Christie. Christie sat up quickly on the couch with interest, almost falling off and squashing Asuka and Xiaoyu, who were leaning against the couch.

"He was really nice to me, he even gave me this locket to keep the memory of my parents with me…" Asuka reached into her pajama top and lifted a small silver beaded chain, with an oval locket dangling from it. Xiaoyu, Lili and Miharu moved in for a closer look, with Christie looking above all of them to see the locket.

"Never forget…" Miharu recited the words carved on the locket.

"But he reacted rather badly to the notes I've gotten." Asuka continued grimly. Another look of confusion swept across Christie's face.

"Notes? Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" Christie exclaimed in annoyance.

"Suki's been getting these really weird notes from someone in the competition. They're kinda weird." Lili explained to Christie.

"So how did…uh…" Christie clicked her fingers, trying to remember his name, "that H-guy react to the notes?" Christie eventually asked, after failing to remember his name. Asuka opened her mouth to reply but the words had been caught in her throat. Fresh tears started to build up in her eyes but she blinked them back.

"He accused her of two timing and threw the notes at her." Xiaoyu spoke for Asuka in a very serious tone, which caught Lili, Miharu and Christie by surprise since as they've never heard Xiaoyu sound serious before.

"WHAT!" Christie, Miharu and Lili exclaimed.

"Two timing? You don't even know who the guy that gave you the notes is!" Lili said angrily.

"I can't believe he was such a jerk. He seemed so nice earlier today." Miharu stated.

"Don't worry about him now," Xiaoyu dismissed the topic quickly, to stop Asuka from thinking about him too much.

"How about we see a movie before rehearsal tomorrow?" Miharu suggested.

"There's nothing decent in the cinemas now though…" Christie informed.

"Who cares what we see? We'll see something random…Aeon Flux looks interesting **(A/N: Saw that movie…it was kinda hard to follow but the action was coolies :D)**." Lili suggested.

"Alrighty, we're gonna see Aeon Flux." Asuka finalized with a grin on her face. Christie let out an exaggerated yawn and lay back down on the couch.

"Let's get some sleep first, it's 5 am," Christie said drowsily and in no time, she had fallen fast asleep. Miharu turned to the others.

"Sounds like a plan," Miharu stated and she snuggled into her sleeping bag. Lili, Asuka and Xiaoyu followed suit and soon enough, all of them were fast asleep.

* * *

"So…3 large popcorns, some starburst lollies, 5 frozen cokes and an ice-cream?" Christie squinted at the menu board from behind the queue of people.

"Yeah, we'll have our frozen cokes and 1 large popcorn between us while you have the rest, Christie." Miharu joked, causing Christie to stare at Miharu.

"Asuka's appetite can surpass mine by far, Miharu." Christie stated matter-of-factly. Miharu rolled her eyes.

"Aren't any of you guys tired from last night? We've only had 4 hours of sleep." Lili complained, yawning in the middle of that sentence. Her question went unanswered when Miharu's jaw dropped.

"Is that Hwoarang?" Miharu questioned. Asuka, Lili, Christie and Xiaoyu immediately face the direction Miharu was staring at to see a tall red-head buying tickets at the counter on the far side. There was a brunette, American woman with him, which raised everyone's curiosity.

"Who's that girl that's with him?" Xiaoyu asked.

"I'm not sure…I think she's in the competition. I've definitely seen her before." Miharu informed, racking her brain for any familiarity.

"I think she's that saxophonist…" Lili said, taking a few steps closer to the couple. While her friends were trying to identify the woman with Hwoarang, Asuka was fuming. _He was tell me that I was two-timing? That jerk!_ Without warning, Asuka marched towards Hwoarang and the American with nothing but anger boiling in her veins. Her friends called to her from the distance to stop her advance but it all proved useless. Hwoarang had seen her approaching and a look of surprise washed over his face. Asuka stopped abruptly about a meter away from the two.

"You're such a jerk, Hwoarang! I should've listened to my brother!" Asuka screamed. The American woman stared at Asuka and then looked back at Hwoarang.

"Who's this, Hwoarang?" The girl asked innocently. Asuka's fists were slowly clenching at her sides, shaking violently.

"Don't ever talk to me again!" Asuka screamed once more. She ripped the locket off her neck and threw it at him, before turning on her heels and storming off. Xiaoyu, Lili, Christie and Miharu were surprised by Asuka's actions and attempted to stop her to talk about it, but Asuka pushed passed her friends and continued to storm off. Xiaoyu, Lili, Christie and Miharu glanced at each other before they hurried off after Asuka.

**A/N: Phew! That ends that chapter. Hehe, things getting a bit dramatic. Once again, I'm soooooo sorry for the late asss update! I wanted to update this story before I head to Music Camp, which is 2moro. Hope u guys did like this chapter. Took me AAAAGGGESSSS to figure out how to write this. Well, it'll probably not b for a while til I update again but please review!**

**And once again, sorry for the late update.**


	12. Angered brother

**A/N: Yo Peoples! It is I, Thee Slushee. I just thought Id update this story before exams start…which is next week! ARGH! Well, I'm not too worried. English is just creative writing, which I'm getting practice :P Maths is just Stats…not too hard. Accounting is dead easy and Graphics is just work for 2 hours. I'm only worried about History and Science Physical…Physics confusing and damn dates in History:P**

**Anyhu, enough about my worries, to the chapter!**

**Chapter 12: Angered brother**

Asuka stomped out of the mall angrily, her friends attempting to keep up with her. Many people walking past had directed strange looks at her but Asuka paid no heed. As soon as she was close enough, she ripped open the door, got inside, slammed the door shut and drove off, leaving Xiaoyu, Miharu, Christie and Lil gaping at her car zooming off into the distance.

"She…left without us." Xiaoyu broke the silence that ensued, and stated the obvious.

"I guess her rage and fury has clouded her mind." Lili stated like a wise old man.

"Yeah, but she didn't have to go and leave us, we're stranded!" Miharu exclaimed in annoyance, gesturing to the car park that they were in. "How can we go to rehearsal today with her fuming?"  
"Maybe she should lay low today." Xiaoyu suggested.

"Lay low! She'll be letting the entire team down!" Miharu fired back.

"She just needs time to get her head on straight. I'm sure she can catch up easily tomorrow." Lili explained.

"Does this mean we won't be seeing a movie?" Christie asked randomly. Everybody stared at her in shock.

"What planet were you on when this whole episode occurred?"

* * *

Asuka burst into her apartment, the door smashing against the wall. She slammed the door shut and walked hastily to her room and flopped on her bed. As she stared at the ceiling, her anger at Hwoarang began to simmer but the anger at herself rose. _I am such an idiot! I should've listened to Jin about Hwoarang, but noooo..I had to go and say "he could've changed!" Well, I have no learnt that people can't change…_

"Leopards can't change their spots…" Asuka murmured. She gradually slipped off her bed and trudged back to the kitchen. Her eyes fell upon her keyboard in the living room, reminding her of rehearsal today. _Dammit! Forgot about rehearsal. I know Miharu would be furious with me…and so would everybody else…and that jerk will be there_. As soon as the thought of Hwoarang crept into her mind, she unleashed a high pitched scream and threw her fist into the waiting object over her shoulder. To her surprise, she felt fingers clasp around her fist and hold it in place.

Eyes widening in fear, Asuka spun around, throwing her other fist at the person behind her but her other fist was caught easily by her older brother.

"Whoa there, Asuka. You have a sixth sense or something? I could've sworn that you didn't know I was here." Jin joked, holding Asuka's fists in place as she tried to release herself from his grip.

"I didn't know you were here…let me go!" Asuka shouted in annoyance. The smile on Jin's face disappeared as he realized she was being serious. He released her fists and stared at her with concern.  
"Is everything alright, little sis?" Jin asked with worry evident in his voice. Asuka turned away from her brother's questioning glare.

"I'm fine." Asuka replied quietly. Jin calmly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Suki, you can tell me. I can help you through whatever's wrong." Jin said sincerely. Asuka felt a mixture of emotions go through her but she knew she couldn't tell Jin. As much as she hated Hwoarang right now, she didn't want her brother to go hurting anyone.

"No really, I'm fine." Asuka placed a fake smile on her face to mask her emotions and spun around to meet Jin's gaze.

"How'd you get in my apartment anyway?" Asuka asked, changing the subject, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you break in?"

"Door was unlocked." The carefree smile returned to Jin's face, the smile which melted the hearts of all the schoolgirls back when he was in school. "I was trying to pull a Snake on you."

"Pull a Snake on me?" Asuka repeated, raising her eyebrow.

"Snake's a character from the Metal Gear Solid series **(A/N: I don't own them. Hideo Kojima owns them all!)**. He's like this secret agent guy and he's very good at sneaking up on people. I just wanted to scare you but I guess I scared you enough when I caught your fist." Jin explained.

"Heh, you definitely did scare the hell out of me! I thought someone was coming to kill me man! Don't ever 'pull a Snake' on me ever again!" Asuka commanded.

"Okay okay I won't do it again." Jin raised his arms up in defense.

"So, what are you doing here anyway?" Asuka questioned, proceeding into the kitchen and making herself a Milo.

"I just came to check up on my lil sis. How's the band thingee going?" As soon as Jin asked this, the heaped spoon of Milo had dropped out of her hand and spilt all over the kitchen tiles. Soft sobs were heard from Asuka and she hastily moved away from Jin so he wouldn't notice…but it was too late for that.

"Asuka! What's wrong?" Jin asked with concern. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks as Asuka sat down on the couch. She rubbed her eyes with her fingers quickly, in an attempt to stop herself from crying.

"What's going on at the band comp –" Jin came to a realization when he pieced together bits of information that he knew from the band competition.

"Is it Hwoarang? I told you to stay away from him! What did he do?" Jin fired at Asuka. Asuka shook her head vigorously.

"No, its not him…" She lied but Jin saw straight through it.

"It couldn't have been anything else, it had to be him!" Anger became evident in his voice. Jin stood up and power walked out of the apartment.

"Jin! Wait!" Asuka cried helplessly but he was gone.

**A/N: OoOoOoOoOo Jin is gonna go crazy! What will he do? Stay tuned til next chapter!**

**Hope you liked that chapter. Sorry about the not-so-frequent updates but I'm trying my best to get thru this and I hope you like it :D**

**Send me a review to lemme know what you think!**


	13. Preventions

**A/N: Yo peoples! Exams have long since finished…I'm just soooo lazy to update :P Sorry people! Now being bombarded with assignments, which annoy the hell outta me!**

**The Tekken DR Nationals r on this Saturday! I kno! I didn't kno they existed in NZ! But sadly, I cant go…my friends cant come with me since theyv got assignments (heh, so do I, but I wanna go anyway!) and I cant go on my own…so suck.**

**Anyhu, time for yet another chapter of I believe.**

**Chapter 13: Preventions**

Asuka rushed through the doorway of her apartment, panic now building up inside her. She looked frantically down both corridors but Jin had already disappeared.

"Man, forgot how fast he was…" Asuka muttered. She took off to the right, desperately sprinting down it in hopes of catching Jin before he reached the carpark. After bursting into the stairwell, Asuka immediately took hold of the rail and looked down the three-storey high spiraling staircase leading to the ground floor. She caught sight of Jin near the bottom of the stairs, leaping down two stairs at a time. Asuka gasped and instantly leapt down the stairs, quickening her pace.

Asuka entered the carpark, searching for a young man with hair spiked out into a peak at the back of his head, wearing baggy jeans, a black t-shirt with some sort of band imprinted on it and a black sweatband on his wrist. She spotted him hopping into his black Mazda MX-5 **(A/N: Such an awesome little car :D)**.

"Oh God," Asuka whispered with anxiety. "Jin, wait!" Asuka called out to his reversing car. She flailed her arms in the air and ran towards the reversing vehicle. Jin placed the car where the back of the car was facing his little sister and then shoved his foot on the pedal, a loud grunt erupting from his petite sports car and leaving nothing but exhaust fumes in Asuka's face.

"Wait – " Asuka coughed, fanning the air around her. Her brother was gone. Asuka bit her lip, fearing the outcome of Jin confronting Hwoarang. Without another second thought, she clambered into her car and sprung the engine to life. _I have to stop this before it happens_.

* * *

"Alright peoples, I reckon you," Miharu pointed at the blonde drummer, "should play a bit slower. You're in charge of keeping us all in time and I don't want to end up singing this song double speed." Miharu instructed.

"And you," She pointed at the Canadian bassist, "should crank up the volume on your amp because I can't hear you at all." Miharu was still critiquing the band from her place on the rehearsal room floor.

"I think we've just about got the song sussed out. You think you can finally get your ass off the floor and sing?" The drummer asked, twirling a drumstick around his fingers effortlessly. Miharu crossed her arms and pouted.

"I can sing just fine from where I am." With that, a wide grin spread across her face and she bounced up. "Just kidding peoples…Okay, from the top." There was a long silence.

"Why isn't anybody playing?" Miharu asked.

"It's the piano solo right about now." The bassist replied. Miharu smacked her palm on her forehead _Dammit Asuka!_

"Alright, we'll start from when I start singing." Miharu ordered. The band was staring at her expectantly, since they had never heard her sing before. Miharu took a deep breath.

"Hooowww can you see into my heart, like open doooors," Miharu sang the first line of Bring Me To Life. Her voice definitely surprised the band as they didn't expect her to have such good stability at such a high note.

"Lead –" Miharu was interrupted as the door swung open and crashed against the wall. Miharu spun around to see Asuka's older brother, Jin, with a livid expression on his face.

"Sorry Suki's bro, Suki isn't here." Miharu informed him as soon as she saw him but then her eyebrows knotted in confusion when she saw the silent fury written on his face.

"Kazama?" Hwoarang, who had been quiet the whole time, asked in disbelief. Without saying a word, he marched up to Hwoarang, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the wall.

"Hey! Get your grubby hands off of me you lousy shit!" Hwoarang snapped in annoyance.

"What did you do to my sister?" Jin hissed, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"Hey!" Miharu separated the two. "No fighting in here! If you want to fight, take it outside." Miharu looked back and forth between them, both looking ready to pounce on each other. Hwoarang was the first to break the eye contact between the two, trudging outside the hall. Jin followed shortly afterwards.

"What did you do to my sister?" Jin repeated standing a couple of meters away from Hwoarang with fists clenched at his sides.

"I don't know who the fuck your sister is, dipshit!" Hwoarang fired back, anger boiling up inside him.

"You sure as hell know who Asuka Kazama is!" Jin snapped. A spark of realization ignited within Hwoarang's mind. _That's why I recognized the last name Kazama on that first day…_Hwoarang thought to himself.

"I'll ask you this one more time…what did you do to my sister?" Jin threatened, now taking a couple of steps towards Hwoarang. Hwoarang stood his ground, not fazed by Jin's threats.

"It was your whore of a sister who did this to me." Hwoarang snapped.

"Whore? Okay, that's it!" Jin lunged at Hwoarang, decking him across the face. Hwoarang staggered back, rubbing his face from the surprise attack. Just as Hwoarang came to face Jin again, he had dealt a low sweep, tripping the Korean up. Hwoarang rolled back and bounced into his fighting stance.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get." A smirk spread across Hwoarang's face as he instantly shot out a foot aimed at Jin's head. Jin reeled from the blow, not expecting such a quick hit. Hwoarang jumped in the air, spun around and aimed another kick at Jin's head. However, Jin was prepared and with precise timing, he parried Hwoarang's kick, making his landing not so graceful. Jin performed a quick and powerful uppercut, making Hwoarang fly through the air.

Hwoarang was on the ground, attempting to stand up. His lip started bleeding in result of the previous blow. Hwoarang dashed towards Jin and dealt two quick jabs at Jin's side. Hwoarang then executed a low kick at Jin's shins and then a kick to the head with the same foot.

Jin hastily wiped the blood now trickling from his nose with the back of his hand and spun around, performing a powerful spin kick, knocking Hwoarang against the door of the building. Hwoarang pushed himself off the ground with his hands, staggering slightly and raising his fists but his balance collapsed and his back collided with the glass doors of the building.

Jin was about to deal another powerful uppercut when the person he knew he couldn't hurt jumped in front of Hwoarang.

"Jin, stop this!" Asuka commanded, standing in front of Hwoarang with arms outstretched, protecting him. Jin's fist halted about an inch short from Asuka's face.

"Leave him alone." Asuka ordered with a stern voice.

"Asuka! I told you to stay away from him. He was bad news. He hurt you!" Jin was annoyed at Asuka's constant defending of Hwoarang.

"Yes…but that doesn't mean you go around beating people up!" Asuka shot back. Hwoarang stared up at Asuka in surprise. _After all the things that I said to her, she still sticks up for me…_Guilt settled in on Hwoarang, making him lower his eyes in shame. Jin finally backed off, taking a couple of steps back.

"If I see you near my sister again, you're finished, Hwoarang." Jin threatened, making a cutting gesture at his throat. He turned on his heels and walked off. Asuka turned back to Hwoarang and squatted in front of him.

"I hope Jin didn't hurt you too much," Asuka said with a tinge of worry. Hwoarang willed himself to stand, hand resting on the glass door of the rehearsal hall for support.

"Nah, I'm still living," Hwoarang joked, wincing as a sharp pain shot up his leg.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you, Hwoarang." Asuka stated, slowly standing up but not breaking eye contact with Hwoarang.

"It'll take a lot to build up my trust again." Asuka continued with no emotion. Without hearing Hwoarang's reply, she pushed past him and entered the rehearsal building, leaving Hwoarang staring at her retreating figure.

**A/N: Yo peoples! Well, that ends another chapter. I'm really sorry for these updates being really slack…and maybe the chapters being a lil slack as well. Ok, I'm venturing FAR FAR away from the actual thing, this fight wasn't part of the actual story! In fact, she doesn't even have an older bro :P**

**Hope you did like this one…awww, Asuka stuck up for Hwoarang :D Review peoples!**


	14. Second Performance and Elimination

**A/N: Hey everyone! My god, has it been far too long since my last update? I was actually thinking bout completely canning this story! Yea, I know. Its just that I lost the motivation to keep this story going…I was actually just going to post this chapter (since it was sitting here) and then delete this story. But as I was finishing this story up, a bit of motivation was rekindled so hopefully I cud keep regular updates going.**

**Right now, its like EXAM WEKK! I'm just quickly getting on with this and then returning to my Accounting (yes, I take accounting…don't laugh) and my Chem study. Hope u guys enjoy this chapter tho!**

**Chapter 14: Second Performance and Elimination**

"Woah…talk about tense." The drummer stated after the door slammed shut from Jin and Hwoarang leaving the building.

"This I gotta see!" The bassist laid down his guitar and jogged up to the rehearsal door when Miharu stood in his path, hands on hips.

"You," Miharu poked him in the chest, "-are not going anywhere! We need to practice."

"But we can't practice without our keyboardist AND lead." The bassist whined.

"Oh yes we can. Back to your guitar." Miharu ordered, pointing over his shoulder. The bassist hung his head and trudged back to this guitar.

"Ok…so it's just a drummer, a bassist and a vocalist? Come on Miharu, there's no way we can practice this song without two of the major instruments." The drummer reasoned, standing up from his place behind the drum kit, placing the sticks firmly on the snare drum.

"But the performance is in 2 days!" Miharu retorted.

"I think that the people who need the most practice aren't here," The drummer stated truthfully. "We should just rest up for the next couple of days and do some solo practice…then maybe on the day we can get in one group practice." He suggested. Miharu rubbed a couple of fingers on her forehead while resting her elbow on her other arm. She sighed in annoyance. _You picked the best day to not show up Suki, _Miharu thought sarcastically.

"Alright, we'll call it a day." Miharu gave in. Before anyone moved though, Asuka entered the rehearsal hall, dumping her bag on the ground by the door.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Asuka smiled, masking the emotions she truly felt.

"YAY! Suki's here! Looks like we can practice after all." Miharu chirped. The bassist glared at Asuka.

"Asuka! Why'd you have to show up NOW? We were _this_ close from having the day off!" The bassist complained, making the gesture of distancing his thumb and index finger only a centimeter apart. Asuka shrugged.

"Sorry bout that. Didn't really bring my keyboard though," Asuka smiled sheepishly.

"Asuka, how can you turn up to rehearsal without your instrument? Are you gonna hum what you're playing?" The drummer asked rhetorically.

"I was kinda in a hurry. Might have to hum it actually." Asuka covered up, dismissing the subject

"But we still can't really practice an Evanescence song without a guitarist," The bassist continued, obviously determined to have this day off. To the bassist's dismay, as soon as he said that, Hwoarang limped through the door with his bleeding lip.

"Well, we have our guitarist," Miharu stated, a big grin forming on her face. The bassist slumped his head in defeat.

"There goes the day off." He said glumly.

"Hwoarang, what the hell happened to you?" The drummer asked, approaching him. Hwoarang hastily wiped the blood trail down his chin in an effort to remove any presence of blood but he only succeeded in smearing it all over his chin.

"Me and Kazama got into a little fight. No biggie." Hwoarang said hastily pushed passed the gaping bassist and limped towards his guitar, flinching with every step on his right leg.

"Uhh…Hwoarang? You sure you're fit to play?" Miharu asked with concern. Hwoarang automatically slung the neck strap over him and strummed a distorted A major chord. He silenced the chord and looked up at Miharu.

"I'm good."

"Okey dokey then," Miharu clapped her hands in excitement and leaped back to stand in front of the band. "Let's go!" Asuka sat on the floor and began taping her fingers on the purple carpet, as if playing a piano. Whilst doing this, she hummed the tune according to what her fingers were playing. Miharu snatched her drink bottle off the floor and began singing into it as if it was a microphone.

After running through the whole song for the umpteenth time, Miharu decided to call it a day. The rest of the band complied without hesitation. Everyone was packing away all their instruments (well, just the bassist, drummer and Hwoarang) while Asuka and Miharu were discussing their performance.

"Do you think you guys are ready for Wednesday? We didn't do much practice on this." Miharu asked.

"I reckon we'll blow the judges away! Even though we didn't do a lot of regular practices, this one definitely packed more than enough to set us up," Asuka stated confidently.

"Thanks for helping us through this…I don't know _what_ we'd be doing or _where_ we'd be without you, Mi." Asuka gave her friend an appreciative hug.

"No worries…just doing my job, is all." Miharu joked with a grin on her face.

**2 days later**

Asuka was sitting in the lobby, like all the other competitors, anxiously waiting for their turn for the performance. Asuka bit her lip and her foot started tapping unusually fast. It's one of the symptoms she has of stage fright.

"Calm down, Suki," Miharu placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "You guys will do great." Asuka turned to her friend with a worried expression.

"I hope you're right," Asuka smiled weakly.

Hwoarang was standing at a distance with his guitar slung over his shoulder. He was watching Asuka, contemplating whether to go up to her and talk to her. _No…no way she'd talk to me after that…there must be something I could do to earn her trust again…_The performance didn't worry Hwoarang at all. He learned his part so well that he could perform it perfectly with the guitar behind him. All that concerned him was whether if he could ever be her friend ever.

"Just talk to her," Hwoarang turned around to see the cross-armed bassist with the insistent look on his face.

"What?" Hwoarang asked blandly. The bassist rolled his eyes.

"Its plain obvious that you want to talk to her…SHE probably knows it too," The bassist said, a goofy grin coming to his face.

"Piss off," Hwoarang spat. The bassist raised his hands up in defence.

"No need to get nasty. All I'm saying is that if you want her so bad, just talk to her," The bassist continued. Hwoarang glared at the bassist.

"Do I need to tell you again?" Hwoarang said in annoyance.

"I've seen you two hanging out, and she definitely likes you man." The bassist stated. Hwoarang opened his mouth to retort but stopped himself.

"She does?" Hwoarang asked dumbly.

"Definitely! But I can see that something happened between you two…but just talk to her, sort out your differences. It won't take long for her to come around. Just try it. What's the worst that could happen?" The bassist lightly punched him in the shoulder. Hwoarang looked down, thinking about what he said.

"Could band number 3 please make their way to the auditorium now?" Dom, the host of the show shouted over the thick murmurs.

"That'll be us. Think about what I said," The bassist picked up his guitar and moved to the auditorium, along with the drummer, Asuka and Miharu. Hwoarang nodded and followed the rest into the auditorium.

The panel of 3 judges sat in the same area as last time, watching the group move onto stage. Asuka hooked up her keyboards, Hwoarang and the bassist took out their guitars and plugged them into the relevant speakers, the drummer sat down behind the drumkit, testing the bass drum and hi hat. Miharu grabbed stand with a wireless mic on it and looked back at the drummer. He gave a thumbs up for the equipment check. Miharu shifted her gaze to Hwoarang and the bassist. They both gave a brief nod of assurance. Finally, Miharu looked at Asuka, who took a deep breath and began playing the piano intro to the song on the Grand Piano setting.

"How can you see into my eyes, like open doors," Miharu began singing.

"Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb," Hwoarang began playing some power chords. Miharu took the mic off the stand (which took her a while to master, since the first few times, she fiddled around with the stand).

"Without a soul," Miharu walked to the left of the stage, glancing back at Hwoarang with a smile. Hwoarang smirked back in response and shifted his gaze back to his guitar as he was preparing for a chord change.

"My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold. Until you find it there and lead it back…home." At this point, the bass and drums joined in for the chorus.

"Wake me up," The bassist sang through the mic that was in front of him.

"Wake me up inside," Miharu proceeded back to the centre of the stage.

"I can't wake up,"

"Wake me up inside,"

"Save me!"

"Call my name and save me from the dark,"

"Wake me up,"

"Bid my blood to run,"  
"I can't wake up,"

"Before I come undone,"

"Save me!"

"Save me from the nothing I've become."

"Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me,"

"Breath into me and make me real. Bring me…to life"

"Wake me up,"

"Wake me up inside,"

"I can't wake up,"

"Wake me up inside,"

"Save me!"  
"Call my name and save me from the dark,"

"Wake me up,"

"Bid my blood to run,"

"I can't wake up,"

"Before I come undone,"

"Save me!"

"Save me from the nothing I've become!"

"Bring me to life,"

"I've been living a lie! There's nothing inside!" Hwoarang's screaming talents came into play here as he screamed into the mics as he did in previous rock bands he's been in.

"Bring me to life," At this point, Miharu's mic generated some feedback with the speakers, which caused an ear shattering screech. Miharu reflexively covered her ears and the music stopped for half a second as the feedback passed. The drummer started drumming again and everyone managed to pick up where they left off and carried on.

"Frozen inside without your touch, without your love darling," Miharu sung, with sum soft harmony of "Ahhhhh"s by Hwoarang and the bassist.

"Only you are the life among the dead!"

"All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see. Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me," The bassist sung while Hwoarang played some steady power chords.

"I've been sleeping for a thousand years it seems. I've got to open my eyes to everything!" Miharu now took a few steps back to the bassist and the two looked like they were having a conversation with each other.

"Without a voice, without a thought, without a soul,"

"Don't let me die here," Miharu sang in a very dark voice which seemed very un-Miharu.

"There must be something more!" Hwoarang screamed.

"Bring me to life!"

"Wake me up,"  
"Wake me up inside," Asuka filled in for Miharu as she continued the last "life"

"I can't wake up,"

"Wake me up inside," Miharu joined Asuka in this line.

"Save me!"

"Call my name and save me from the dark,"

"Wake me up,"

"Bid my blood to run,"  
"I can't wake up,"

"Before I come undone,"

"Save me!"

"Save me from the nothing I've become! Bring me to life,"

"I've been living a lie! There's nothing inside!"

"Bring me to liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife!" As Miharu went for the long note, Asuka's piano entrance once played again to end the song. Miharu took a deep breath after her long note and looked up at the judges. Paul nodded a couple of times in satisfaction.

"Was a good performance. Tested everyone's playing ability…you guys kept it together even after the slight feedback from the mic, which I commend you for," Paul gave a thumbs up directed at the drummer at the back.

"Well, a few notes were a bit off on the singer's part, but that's not what you're being marked on. Beautiful piano, hardout riffs, smooth drumming…on the whole it was a good performance…not sure if it _wowed _me though," Eddy stated coolly.

"The way you kept it together even after the feedback was good. Disrupted the fluidity of the piece but in the real world, shit happens and it's important that you can carry it on if something should happen, which really impressed me. A group that came on before completely messed up when the lead for the rhythm guitar failed. It all came apart…of course, they started up like 4 seconds later but a crowd notices that delay. On the whole, great job," Nina praised. This brought a smile to everyone's faces, who directed "good job" looks at each other.

"Now get your ass off the stage," Paul said with a joking grin, pointing a thumb at the door.

"Thank you," Asuka thanked, before a huge chorus of thank yous came from the group before they left the auditorium.

After about half an hour's worth of performances, the judges were left to determine who was the weakest link. During that time, anxious whispers and murmurs were all that was heard in the lobby, wondering who will be out. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Dom emerged from the auditorium with the verdict. Pin-drop silence swept the lobby, attention focused on Dom.

"All of you have played valiantly today…I'm sorry to say that one band must leave. That band is…band number 6." Band number 6 said their goodbyes and all headed out of the lobby. As well as the tears shed, there were sighs of relief.

"Congratulations for making this far. Now things from now on, are going to be a little bit different." Dom announced. The remaining bands halted their celebrations to listen to Dom.

"You guys…are gonna be on TV!" Dom announced.

**A/N: Whew! Man, the one time I update this, its during…EXAM WEEK! Yeah, well the Maths and English exams are over…which reminds me, I have thought up a new idea for a new fic during my English exam :P See? Inspiration hits u at the weirdest times! Expect to see it up after Exam week, which shud be in the middle of next week. Anyhu, I hope that chapter was worth the wait…. I actually started this chapter like AAAGGEEES ago! Its only now that I actually finish it!**

**Well, once again, absolutely sorry about the massive wait..hopefully things can run smoothly from now on.**

**Review!**

**Oh, and before I forget, I have totally revamped Happy Birthday for all u Xiaoyin-ers! Its soooo much better and longer than it was before! Wud appreciate it if u headed to my profile now and chekd it out. Leave me a review for that too!**


	15. Mysterious drummer revealed

**A/N: Hey hey everybody! It is Thee Slushee back for another chapter! I kid u not! Yup, ur probably rubbing ur eyes and staring back at ur comp screen coz its unbelieveable! I'm actually updating this less than at least 2 months from the last chapter! Well, I thought I'd better get this cracking or I'll be like 30 by the time I finish this fic! Thought that I MUST battle off my laziness for u guys. Also, don't know if u guys have seen my latest story, but its called Face the Music. It's a story about Jin and Xiao…lol this fic has gotten me turning Tekken characters in Muzos! Haha…well exams have finally finished for me over here, so I'll try to be less lazy and finally go back to my regular updates :D**

**Chapter 15: Mysterious drummer revealed**

The second round of the competition had passed. Now the remaining candidates were randomly switched again to form 8 bands.

While Asuka was in the locker room dumping her backpack before she met the rest of the band, a thought occurred to her. _I wonder if the mysterious guy writing me notes will see this…_Asuka took some paper out of her bag, pulled out a ball point pen and started scribbling a note on the piece of paper.

_To mysterious drummer dude,_

_I'm quite curious as to who you are so meet me at 4 after all the rehearsals outside the rehearsal hall._

_Asuka_

Asuka folded the note in two and placed it on top of the stuff in her backpack. She purposely left the bag open and proceeded to the rehearsal hall. A familiar face greeted her when she entered.

"Well if it isn't Asuka," The Indian guitarist she worked with at the first performance greeted.

"Hey! Long time no see. Good to see you still in this competition," Asuka said. The Indian guitarist nodded, a lopsided smile reaching his face.

"Same with you, Kazama." Just then, Dom entered the room, followed by a camera crew._ That's right…we're on TV now,_ Asuka reminded herself with minimal enthusiasm.

"This is Band Number 8," Dom said to the camera lens before the camera panned through the room. A few shy waves were directed at the camera as the enthusiastic drummer yelled out a "HEY!"

"Alright, your vocalist is…Christie," Just then, Christie casually strolled through the door in a denim miniskirt and a black halter neck top with sunglasses perched on her head of flowing, brown hair. A look of disbelief washed over Asuka's features once more.

"Are you guys the _only _people who signed up for the vocals in this competition?" Asuka asked. Christie wasn't much of a singer in their group; she was more of a dancer…but that doesn't mean that she couldn't sing if the opportunity presented itself. Christie blew a kiss into the camera before joining Asuka.

"I didn't want to be the only random that doesn't know about your love life," Christie said quietly to Asuka, which shocked Asuka.

"What? Did you want front row seats or something!" Asuka hissed back, obviously annoyed.

"No no no, I just wanted to know what was happening for once," Christie reasoned.

"Well guys, your next assignment is…1000 words," Dom announced. A spark of familiarity crossed the Indian guitarist's eyes.

"Wait…you mean Final Fantasy X-2 1000 words?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Yup, you got it. Well, get to work people and we'll see you on performance time next week." With that, Dom left the room but the camera crew remained.

"Don't mind us, just go about your daily practices. We're not even here," The camera man said from behind his camera. The rest of the camera crew retreated to a small corner near the door, out of the way.

"Oh…kay. Well, the first order of business is to see how much you guys can sight read this…" Christie handed Asuka a folder with everyone's sheet music inside it. Asuka distributed the sheet music and went to her place behind her keyboard.

"Christie, do you actually know this song?" The drummer questioned from her place behind the drum kit, twirling a drumstick between her fingers.

"Yeah, I knew what song I was singing like four days before. Since I loved this song as soon as I heard it, I know the lyrics off by heart." Christie boasted. Christie proceeded towards the front of the band.

"Let's try this," The Indian guitarist squinted at his music and played the appropriate notes to begin the song but since his guitar wasn't tuned properly, the notes sounded far from accurate.

"I know that you're hiding things, using gentle words to shelter me," Christie started singing. At this time, the drummer started a steady slow beat, accompanied by a few chords from the piano.

"Your words were like a dream…but dreams can never fool me. Not that easily," Still squinting at his music, he plucked a few notes as she sang. The bassist, who had been silent the whole time, started playing confidently, reading his music like a children's book.

"Save your tears 'cause I'll come back. I can hear that you whisper as you walked through that – Okay, I can't take it!" Christie unexpectedly burst.

"You!" She pointed accusingly at the Indian guitarist. "tune your guitar!" Everyone stared at Christie for a moment.

"The off-tuneness is annoying the hell out of me," Christie continued. Finally the Indian guitarist reacted and walked over to Asuka, tuning his guitar. This would be a long practice.

* * *

Christie and Asuka walked towards the locker room after practice to get their bags. 

"Honestly, if the guitarist dude played one more note while the guitar was like THAT, I would've ripped all the strings out and strangled him with it!" Christie was still going on about how bad it sounded and how it ruined the song. Asuka couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"It's just the first practice. I'm sure we'll all remember to tune up our instruments, now that you scolded him on national TV." Christie's cheeks reddened after that statement.

"Oh my God! I completely forgot they were filming us!" Christie exclaimed. As they entered the locker room, Christie gasped.

"Suki! Your bag's open!"

"Don't worry Christie, I purposely left my bag open this time," Asuka reassured.

"Why?"

"I left a note here for mysterious drummer boy. Wonder if he got it?" To her dismay, the note was still in her bag…but there was something else written on it. She picked it up for closer inspection. The drummer had unbelievably messy hand-writing. Asuka squinted at it for a few seconds and it finally registered in her mind what he was saying: I'll be there. _Either that, or it says ill he treve_, Asuka joked in her mind.

"What the hell does that say?" Christie asked, finally getting a glimpse of the note.

"I'll be there," Asuka repeated out loud, looking at Christie.

"I'll be there for what?"

"I asked the drummer if he could meet me after all the rehearsals were over, which is at 4." Asuka explained. Christie glanced at her watch. It read 3:50.

"Well, he should be there in ten minutes! You should go. Don't worry about me, I'll just go and apologize to the guitarist madly," Christie smiled. Asuka smiled back.

"Thanks heaps, Christie,"

"No problem…now go!" Christie shooed Asuka out of the changing room and outside the building.

* * *

Asuka leaned against the glass doors of the rehearsal building. She glanced at her watch for about the tenth time in the space of five minutes. 3:59. _Oh come on Asuka, think realistically here. He won't be here on the dot._ Proving Asuka's mind wrong, the drummer showed up in front of her all of a sudden at exactly 4 o clock. Asuka's head veered back in surprise, wondering how on earth he managed to get there without her noticing him approaching. 

"Oh my god! Steve?" Asuka exclaimed in surprise. Standing before her was the blonde drummer that she performed with at the last elimination performance.

"But….how? How did you put the note in my bag when you were in rehearsal with us?" Asuka questioned in disbelief.

"I, uh…kinda slipped it in your bag while you were dragging your keyboard," Steve said with a slight tinge of embarrassment and nervousness. Asuka was still blinking in utter surprise.

"Well...as you might have guessed…I…I kinda like you, Asuka," Steve said, his voice wavering. Asuka felt bad for him...she didn't want to turn him down…but then again, she could give it a shot with him.

"D-Do…you wanna go for a…coffee or something?" A weak smile came to his features. Asuka smiled back.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Asuka reached into her pocket and tossed her car keys over at the garden, where Christie was hiding behind a bush, spying on them.

"Don't scratch her," Asuka said before walking off with Steve. Christie smiled, happy that her friend is giving someone else a shot. She walked over to Asuka's car and drove it back to Asuka's apartment.

* * *

Hwoarang figured that now was the best time to talk to her, to see if they could be friends again. _Hey Asuka…listen, I know I've been such a jerk and I wanted to start things again, with a clean slate. What d'ya say?_ Hwoarang rehearsed what he was going to say to Asuka over and over again in his mind while pacing through the room that they were in for practice. With a final deep breath, he pushed through the doors and saw Asuka outside. He was about to push through the doors and talk to Asuka when his heart sank. She was talking with someone else…another **guy**. Finally, the two walked off together and she tossed her keys at her friend. 

All hope that was there; that Asuka and him could become friends again was smashed.

"Dammit," He cursed under his breath.

"Hey Hwoa," a familiar voice chirped behind him. He turned around to find the American saxophonist.

"Hey Julia," Hwoarang faked a happy greeting.

"She's found someone else…it's better for you if you move on too." Julia advised, causing Hwoarang to avert her gaze. _No,_ _I could still go for just being her friend…and besides, that's probably not even her boyfriend!_ Hwoarang shook his head and looked back at Julia.

"Hmmm…I guess you're right," With that, Hwoarang and Julia walked out of the rehearsal hall…together.

**A/N: Errrrr….not quite the best chapter ever. Everything was fine, up until that random ending :P I guess starting up frequent updates is gonna be a bit rocky…but I'll try my best! Well there ya go, the mysterious drummer dude is finally revealed :D And GASP Asuka and Hwoarang have gone off in completely different directions now! Will they ever get back together? Of course they are! But how? U'll have to wait (hopefully not as long) and find out when I update next!**

**Review if u can!**


	16. Online contact

**A/N: Yo Yo peoples of all ages, races and locations. It is I, Thee Slushee, back with another chapter of I believe. Sorry about the delayed update…but the important thing is that I am trying! Its definitely a HEAP less lazy than my 4 month updates (which are hopefully a thing of the past)…but I am trying my best! The first week of school is over and theres 4 more weeks til externals…looks like its gonna be a long ride! Well, for the meantime, hope u enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 16: Online contact**

Asuka got out of Steve's red Toyota Celica when they drove into the carpark of the building.

"Thanks for the ride, Steve. Was nice getting to know you better," Asuka said through the window to Steve after slamming the door shut.

"Same to you…so seeya after rehearsal tomorrow?" Steve asked, hoping he wasn't being too forward. Asuka smiled and nodded.

"Yup. Okay, seeya around," With that, Asuka spun on her heels and walked towards the stairwell, waving back at Steve as he reversed his car and exited the carpark. After five minutes of climbing stairs, she reached her apartment. As she searched her pockets and bag for her keys, a thought came to her, making her slap her forehead in annoyance. _That's right…I gave Christie my keys so she could drive my car back._ Upon realizing this, she immediately took out her cellphone and speed dialed Christie.

"Hey Suki, what's up?" Chirped Christie's friendly voice.

"I kinda gave you my keys…and that has the keys to my apartment. Could you bring them to my place now?" Asuka asked.

"Not before you tell me EVERYTHING," Christie said on the other line.

"Can't that wait, Christie? I'm locked out of my apartment right now," Asuka said.

"Who said it was locked?" This made Asuka reach out and turn the handle and oddly enough, it wasn't locked. Asuka pushed open the door, slightly afraid that she might've been robbed, but found Christie lying on the couch, staring at her with a broad smile on her face with her cellphone to her ear. Asuka immediately flipped her phone shut, canceling the call.

"You bummed at my place until I got back?" Asuka asked.

"Of course! That way, I'll be the first to hear about you and your new boyfriend," Christie stated, springing to her feet.

"New boyfriend? Christie, it was just a friendly coffee, nothing special." Asuka said, approaching her friend and realizing a tub of chocolate ice-cream was lying on her coffee table with a spoon impaled in it.

"I guess you made yourself at home."

"What was I supposed to do while you were out flirting for an hour?" Christie said casually, causing Asuka to blush.

"I wasn't flirting!" Asuka defended.

"So, how was he?" Christie questioned, sitting down on the couch. Asuka took a seat next to her.

"Well, the fact that it was him surprised me since I performed with him before…but he was a nice guy. He seemed so nervous," Asuka informed.

"Do you think he's boyfriend material?" Christie questioned which took Asuka by surprise.

"Christie, I just met him! There's no way I judge that sorta thing this early…and besides, we might not actually go out," Asuka suddenly looked down in guilt, staring at her hands resting on her thighs.

"But this guy seriously likes you…are you leading him on?" Christie asked with a tinge of shock.

"Well, no…I'll probably like him after I get to know him better," Asuka continued, eyes still planted on her hands. A knowing smirk appeared on Christie's face.

"I see what this is about," At this, Asuka turned to face her friend.

"What what's about?" She questioned. Christie shook her head.

"Don't play dumb Suki. I know that you're only doing this to make Hwoarang jealous," At this, Asuka gasped and stood up.

"What?! This has nothing to do with Hwoarang. How could you make an assumption like that?" Asuka yelled at Christie and turned her back on her. Christie stood up as well.

"Asuka, I may not have ever seen you with Hwoarang, but I can see how much it's affecting you so the two of you must've been tight. You still like him, don't you?" Christie said calmly. Asuka sighed and faced her friend, defenses down.

"Yeah…a little," Asuka mumbled, sitting back on the couch again.

"Using someone else to make him jealous isn't gonna do much good though, Asuka. You genuinely need to get over him," Christie handed the tub of chocolate ice-cream to Asuka, who took it gratefully.

"But I don't wanna make him jealous…I just wanna move on,"

"But it takes time for wounds to heal…you can't just jump into another relationship just like that,"

"It was barely a relationship to start off with!"

"The point is, you should just wait for a bit, kay?"

"Well, me and Steve are just new friends for the moment…nothing's gonna happen," Christie raised an eyebrow and stared at Asuka.

"Really, nothing's gonna happen,"

* * *

Miharu jumped onto her laptop for some downtime, after an hour's worth of rigorous chess training for the Olympiad. 

"It's Au-to-matic! Sovai iru da kede, sonoi mimitsumi rareru da kede!" Miharu quietly sang to herself as she waited for it to boot up **(A/N: These are lyrics off the J-Pop song Automatic by Utada Hikaru. Its insanely catchy, currently the song I'm obsessed with at the moment. I've even learnt part of the lyrics…how odd it must sound to my parents: A Lankan singing a Jap song! Hehe…Oh! And I don't own it!)**. She hummed the rest of the chorus as a wallpaper of their group of friends greeted her. She signed into MSN Messenger, to find a pop-up informing her that someone has added her. _Who the heck is bloodtalon101?_ Miharu thought to herself. Out of curiosity, she clicked 'Accept', just to see who this person was. After talking to him/her at least once, she'll decide whether to block them or not. Coincidentally, the person seemed to be online now. Miharu opened up a conversation window with them:

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Hi_

**Guitar Freak: Yo Miharu**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Who r u?_

**Guitar Freak: It's Hwoa man!**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- How the hell did u get my email?!_

**Guitar Freak: Relax, I'm not stalking u or nething…got it off Suki b4…u kno**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- U r such a major jerk! How cud u do that to Suki? I'm jus gonna block u rite now!_

**Guitar Freak: Plez dont **Before Miharu could place her finger on the motion-sensitive pad on the laptop, she felt that there seemed a sense of urgency in his fast reply…even though this was all online and lies could easily be pulled off since one couldn't see the other, Miharu felt that he seemed genuine…

_-::Starlight Eternity: (sighs) wat do u want?_

**Guitar Freak: I feel really bad 4 wat I did to her…I wanna say sorry.**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Then say sorry! Wats stopping u?_

**Guitar Freak:…  
**_-::Starlight Eternity::- Well?_

**Guitar Freak: She has a bf**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Wat?! Wat r u talking bout? No she duznt._

**Guitar Freak: Yes she duz…she walked off wit him after prac 2day**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- That duznt mean that hes her bf._

**Guitar Freak: Even so, it ruins any chance I hav wit her…**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- U stil like her?_

**Guitar Freak: I neva sed that!**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- U were thinking it :P_

**Guitar Freak: Well, bf or not, I wanna apologise…but the thing is, I hav no idea how**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Well, jus prove 2 her tat u feel genuinely sorry…_

**Guitar Freak: So the usual "I'm sorry" isn't gud enuf 4 her?**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Its not that! Its jus that she needs 2 kno that u actually feel bad 4 wat u did n ur not jus saying it 2 b on gud terms with her._

**Guitar Freak: Well, wat do u think I shud do?**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- (thinks) Well…if u want, u cud make an extravagant speech on how u realized the error of ur ways and ur willing to do nething to b friends wit her again :P_

**Guitar Freak: (stares)…or I cud NOT!**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Well, if u don't like my stuff, jus do wat u reckon will make her get over ur grudge._

**Guitar Freak: But the whole reason I added u in the first place was 4 u 2 giv me sum idea of wat I shud do! Ur no help!**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- As corny as this sounds, u shud do wat u feel in ur heart that wud work_

**Guitar Freak:…this isn't some cheesy movie! Jus giv me ANY sort of idea of wat I can get her.**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- U don't really need to get her nething…shes not a materialistic person. Jus nething that comes str8 frm the heart…it's the thought that counts._

**Guitar Freak: Im not confessing my love 2 her, Miharu!**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Fine then, save it 4 wen u do confess ur luv for her_

**Guitar Freak:…Ur absolutely no help**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Did u really think I wud jus giv u a detailed plan on how u shud apologise to her?_

**Guitar Freak: Sumthing along those lines…**

_-::Starlight Eternity::- Ur hopeless! Jus think…u kno Suki well rite? Wat do u think she'll like?_

**Guitar Freak: Well…the only thing I hav in common wit her is music…hold on a sec…I hav an idea!**

**Guitar Freak: I g2g…talk 2 u l8er!**

_**Guitar Freak appears to be offline**_

Miharu closed the conversation window, wondering what Hwoarang was planning. _He better not do anything stupid._

**A/N: Whew, that's another chapter done. Sorry, this was a bit delayed…was meant to be up about a couple of days ago…well at least its better than a couple o months, right? HAHA Well, I'm not too happy with this chap…I know, the screen names of Miharu and Hwoarang weren't very inventive…hahha! And I tried to keep to short-hand as much as I cud but sometimes proper spelling overrules! Anyway, hope u did like this chapter and I'll try to update as fast as I can. Leave me a review!**


	17. Lips of an Angel

**A/N: Hey peoples! I'm back with another chapter of I believe…woah, its been a YEAR since I started this fic! And I'm like only 17 chapters into it! That's pathetic mayn! I really shud update this more often….I guess it was coz this 4 month period beforehand where I put this fic on hold…and also doubted continuing it…but after much deliberation I thought I shud keep going with this fic :D So here I am with the latest update. Happy New Year to everybody and I hope this year is filled with awesomeness (as well as updates, u fanfic writers :P). Okey dokes, time to finally get down to business. To the chapter!**

**Chapter 17: Lips of an Angel**

After Hwoarang signed out of MSN, after just talking with Miharu, he opened up Windows Media Player and scanned through his media library. _What would Asuka like?_ Hwoarang repeated over and over again in his mind as he scanned down the list, containing Metallica, Guns N Roses, Dragonforce, Iron Maiden and so on.

"Man, I don't think Unforgiven or Fury of the Storm would count as sorry songs," Hwoarang said to himself through gritted teeth as he continued to scan through the list. His eyes stopped on a foreign object in his media library. _How the hell did this get here?_ Curious as to what this song is, he double clicked it and played the song. The song started out with fairly easy acoustic guitar, which Hwoarang's initial reaction was "I can play this in my sleep." As the song went on, Hwoarang realized that this wasn't the sort of song he would listen to on a daily basis…but this might be something Asuka would like.

Asuka's music taste was slightly less heavy than that of Hwoarang's. Sure, she did enjoy the occasional Metallica classic such as Sad but True but her taste focuses on soft rock ballads, like Nothing Else Matters. She liked the softer ballads better than the hard out distortion guitared songs…and this song was just that. Hwoarang immediately grabbed his blue acoustic guitar; which had a slight electric guitar shape and the carved autumn leaves in the corner had several holes in them, replacing the standard massive hole in the centre that most acoustics carried. It was second only to Hwoarang's electric. He leaned back on his swivel chair and rested his feet on his bed, replaying the song from the start as he began figuring out how to play the song.

* * *

"Alllright peoples!" Christie clapped her hands as she silenced the rest of the band. "Let's take this thing from the top. If you want, I can sing the song to guide you peoples but remember, it's your music that counts at the end of the day,"

"I think it'd be best if you sang along with us…it's the singing that sorta guides the song" Asuka suggested, setting her keyboard to the Grand Piano setting. "Besides, the song sounds empty with no lyrics,"

"Okey dokes, ya'll ready?" Christie asked rhetorically in an inhumanly happy tone. The rest of the band seemed half dead compared to Christie, but they nodded in affirmation. She glanced at the Indian guitarist.

"It's tuned, it's tuned," He assured quickly, not wanting to repeat what happened last time. A smile came to Christie's face.

"Okay, now that everything's truly ready, let's go." She looked at Asuka, which cued her intro. Asuka played a four bar intro and Christie wasted no time in singing.

"I know that you're hiding things, using gentle words to shelter me," The Indian guitarist joined in with the singing and piano chords, playing smooth notes on his acoustic.

"Your words were like a dream. But dreams can never fool me…not that easily," Asuka pushed a key on her keyboard to cue in wind chimes and the drummer joined in for a steady beat for the second part of the verse.

"I acted so distant then, didn't say goodbye before you left,"

"But I was listening…you fight your battles far from me…far too easily," At this time the bassist joined in, having no trouble with the notes whatsoever.

"Save your tears 'cause I'll come back, I could hear that you whisper as you walked through that door,"

"But still I swore, to hide the pain when I turn back the pages. Shouting might've been the answer. But what if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to go,"

"But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart...perfect guys!" Christie cut off the band before they could head onto the chorus.

"Why'd you stop us there?" The drummer asked, his face barely visible from behind his drumkit.

"Cause, there could be stuff changed to make this verse better!" Christie stated matter-of-factly.

"She's a bit of a perfectionist," Asuka said in between clenched teeth to the bassist standing next to her, who nodded in understanding.

"The only thing that seemed a bit off was the drum bit," She looked over in the drummer's direction.

"Hit the rim of the snare drum every fourth beat instead of the snare drum itself. Sounds better that way," Christie instructed. "Yeah! Like that!" She said when the drummer's response was trying out her suggestion.

"Since when did you become such a muzo? Last time I checked, you were the dancer in our group," Asuka asked.

"I guess the days in music class has stuck with me…but in order to be a good dancer, you've gotta feel the rhythm, ya know? My teacher, Eddy, has taught me a lot about rhythm, which is why it's like my area," Christie stated. "You gotta know these things to become a coolio dancer like myself," She added with her usual smile.

"Wait, Eddy as in, one of the judges, Eddy?" The Indian guitarist questioned.

"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine too," This made the bassist give the drummer a sneaky look as an idea hatched in his brain.

"No, I'm not gonna suck up to him to get you guys through," Christie responded, almost reading the bassist's mind.

"Oh come on, please?" He attempted but Christie responded with a firm shake of the head.

"You guys gotta get through this on your own. Prove to the judges AND yourself that you are meant to be in that band," Christie lectured.

"Okay fine," The bassist grumbled.

"Alright, let's try the verse again!"

**Later on**

Asuka was sitting on her couch, mindlessly watching TV. She really didn't pay much attention to what was showing, she mostly used it as an excuse to do some deep thinking, which is something she didn't do often by itself. She had been out with Steve today as well, and she seems to be warming to him. _Steve's a really cool guy: really nice, sensitive, good looking, and he's really cool to be with…and I'm liking the fact that I gave him a chance…but I dunno if he's the right guy for me. Sure, he is a cool friend, could even land as one of my closer friends when I get to know him better…but a boyfriend? I dunno…this is confusing me! I liked it with Hwoarang…_Asuka slapped herself on her forehead. _Again with Hwoarang? Can you just leave him out of the picture? He's with someone else now!_ The sound of knocking at her door disrupted Asuka's thoughts.

"Come in, the door's unlocked," Asuka called out, almost subconsciously, her eyes now glued to the TV to mask her act of deep thought to the person at the door. When the sound of the door opening and a familiar voice didn't reach her ears within 5 seconds, Asuka looked up at her door from her couch to find that it was still closed. Asuka got off the couch and proceeded towards the door. She opened it and looked down both hallways to find them empty.

"Probably some kid playing Ding Dong Ditch," Asuka muttered to herself. As she was about to close the door again, the glint of something shiny caught Asuka's eye on the floor. Asuka's gaze tracked the glint to find that it belonged to a CD (in a clear CD case, of course) left in front of her door. She bent down and scooped the CD off the floor, examining the CD from back to front.

"This should be interesting," A spark of curiosity lit within Asuka as she closed the door and made her way towards her stereo beside her TV. As she approached the couch, she picked up the remote with her right hand and switched the TV off in one smooth motion while using her left thumb to flip the CD case open. She extracted the CD carefully with her right hand, opened the disc tray of her stereo, placed the CD inside and gave a slight push on the outside, closing the disc tray. Asuka clicked the Play button when the stereo read one track on the CD. Immediately, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Asuka, it's Hwoarang here," Asuka gasped as she heard his voice. She glanced at the door. _Did he leave this CD here for me?_ "Really sorry for acting like a jerk the other day. And to answer your question, No, this isn't just an audio apology 'cause I'm too chickenshit to apologize to you in person," Asuka chuckled as Hwoarang knew exactly what she was thinking and answered the question that was going through her mind.

"Just thought I'd add something a bit extra here. Hope you enjoy it and I apologize in advance if this results in your stereo breaking," He chuckled and then cleared his throat. Some notes played the intro of a song she was familiar with: a song that she really liked. _How does he know I like this song?_

"Honey, why you calling me so late?" Hwoarang's voice was heard singing these words. "It's kinda hard to talk right now,"

"Honey, why you crying, is everything okay? I've gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud,"

"Well, my girl's in the next room. Sometimes I wish she was you, I guess we've never really moved on," This was sung with no harmony to it as Hwoarang was recording this all at once. The strums of his guitar began the strengthen to build up towards the chorus.

"It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name, it sounds so sweet. Coming from the lips of an angel, hearing those words it makes me weak,"

"And I, never wanna say goodbye, but girl you make it hard to be faithful. With the lips of an angel," _He's not that bad a singer,_ Asuka thought to herself as she dreamily listened to the song. Hwoarang had always claimed that he couldn't sing and that he'd much rather play the guitar, but his voice wasn't that bad.

"It's funny that you're calling me, tonight. And yes I've dreamt of you too," Asuka's head veered back in slight surprise. _This sounds a little too sappy for Hwoarang's taste._

"Does he know you're talking to me, will it start a fight? And no I don't think she has a clue,"

"Well, my girl's in the next room. Sometimes I wish she was you. I guess we've never really moved on,"

"It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name it sounds so sweet. Coming from the lips of an angel, hearing those words it makes me weak,"

"And I, never wanna say goodbye, but girl you make it hard to be faithful, with the lips of an angel," Asuka noted that this period of instrumental should be when Hwoarang would try and attempt the guitar solo so there would be a pause of all the background instrumental. However, in the recording, there were just the steady chords of the instrumental, no solo. _That's strange…Hwoarang would usually show off and say that he played this solo with his eyes closed…but he's keeping to the song. _At this period, there was a single strum that was meant to last for the next section.

"It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name it sounds so sweet,"

"Coming from the lips of an angel," The guitar started up again with a bang. "Hearing those words it makes me weak. And I, never wanna say goodbye, but girl you make it hard to be faithful. With the lips of an Angel! Never wanna say goodbye, but girl you make it hard to be faithful…with the lips of an angel," The strums slowed down to the picking at the beginning.

"Honey, why you calling me so late?" Hwoarang finished off the song with a final pick of all the strings.

"Well, hope you liked that song and now forgive me for the crap I did. I want us to be friends again, so…let me know okay?" That was where the CD ended. Asuka was awestruck. _He did all of this for me?_ Instantly, Asuka reached for the cordless phone on a table behind her couch and dialed a number she brought up on her phone. She pressed the phone to her ear, anticipating for the ring to end and a voice to sound.

* * *

Hwoarang just made it back to his apartment, making his way back to his bedroom and flopping on his bed. _Have I done the right thing? Or have I made myself look like a lovesick moron?_ Hwoarang was still wondering whether going through all that trouble to make that CD was enough to make him and Asuka friends again or will it make him sound desperate.

"That is probably the sappiest I let myself fall to. If we do end up being friends again, I'm never gonna hear the end of it," Hwoarang muttered to himself as he closed his eyes. The sudden ring of his landline pierced through his whole apartment with its stiff high pictched beeping. Hwoarang was way too lazy, as usual, to answer the phone so he always left the poor soul calling to his answering machine.

"Hey, its Hwoarang, you know the drill." BEEP!

"Um, Hwoarang? Its Asuka here," Hwoarang's eyes immediately shot open as he heard Asuka's voice. He instantly shot up to a sitting position on his bed.

"I just wanted to say thanks for making that CD for me and you can consider yourself forgiven," Asuka's voice continued as Hwoarang struggled to get off his bed as fast as he could but instead landed face flat on the wooden floor next to his bed. He scrambled to his feet and felt himself begin to trip over his feet again but was saved from it when he grabbed onto the doorframe.

"I was hoping to talk to you now but I can see that you're not here so I'll talk to you later,"

"No!" Hwoarang yelled out as he sprinted towards the phone on his breakfast bar. He snatched the phone and held it to his ear.

"Asuka?!" Hwoarang yelled into it but was only met by the ongoing beeps when someone hangs up. He slammed the phone back onto the receiver in frustration. "Dammit!"

**A/N: PHEW! That was one heck of a chapter! LOL! Randomly added the last bit at the end, for some comic relief. But yea, I was debating about the song choice for AAAGGGGEEESSS aye? Hehe, u can ask Hibeki :P But yeah, decided to settle with my original idea, Lips of an Angel. There is an acoustic version of this song, where this was based on. Hehe, if ya got time, head on to my Bebo: thee-slushee. and theres a vid with the acoustic version on it…loL! And if you're into FF, some scenes from Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus on it too :D Anyhu, wow, spent ages on this chapter! I hope you like it! Leave me a review if u can to let me know what you think! Oh, and to finalise things, I DONT own Lips of an Angel, or any of the songs or bands mentioned in this chapter. They all belong to their rightful owners n stuffs :P**


	18. Realisations

**A/N:…Oh…My…God….it has been a full TWELVE MONTHS people!!! Well, not quite…but still, just caught up on what I did with this fic and the last update was from the start of last year!!! And my my my, has last year been pretty rocky! Year 12 was a bitch….SOOO much harder than Yr 11! Hence my ability of completely ditching updating…and just sheer laziness. Well, if I keep this fic going, it wouldv been incomplete for a grand total of TWO YEARS! And counting! K, There shud only be a few chapters left in this and I'm going to fastforward the competition coz this is taking just too long!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own anything **

**Chapter 18: Realisations  
**

Three more eliminations have passed and Asuka and Hwoarang were still in this competition. Hwoarang was smoking his competition with his incredible guitar skills and was quite sure that he could make it all the way. Asuka, on the other hand, has met up with a formidable opponent: a keyboardist that was rumored to have learned the basics of the piano before she could walk.

"Cheer up, Asuka," Hwoarang soothed. "That chick may have skill…but you have passion, and in the end, that's what a band really needs." Hwoarang and Asuka are back to being friends, much to Jin's dismay. He has resorted to giving Asuka the silent treatment until she stops all contact with Hwoarang, which was rather childish in Asuka's mind. Xiaoyu, Lili, Miharu and Christie weren't quite sure of Asuka's decision to be that forgiving towards Hwoarang but one listen to the CD stemmed a chorus of "Awwwww"'s to escape the group, Hwoarang's actions seeming to wipe themselves clean from their grudge plate (and the girls silently wishing that such romantics will befall them sometime in the near future).

Four groups remain and now, the competitors are starting to feel the pressure. Out of these sixteen people, four people will make it all the way to win the competition. Not to mention, the event is now televised so no one could make an attempt to undermine the rules of the competition for fear of being found out on national television. Slight inklings of Asuka's Love Triangle have already been sensed by the lurking cameramen and Asuka had no intention of letting this go national._Good thing they weren't here when Jin and Hwoarang roughed it up outside…_Asuka thought to herself as she caught the cameraman staring at her; video camera glued to his eyeballs, just waiting for her to do something out of the ordinary to catch on film. It was driving her insane!

"Okay! Can we hurry up and get to it?" Asuka called loudly to her group's vocalist in an attempt to ignore the cameraman, sounding impatient.

"Calm down, Asuka! I heard you the first two times," The vocalist replied, slightly annoyed, as this was the third time Asuka called out. "I'm just trying to repair this guy's lead. I've done it before so don't worry, it won't take long," Asuka sighed in annoyance, resting her left elbow on the keyboard speaker and placing her head in her hand, deliberately looking in the other direction to avoid eye contact with the cameraman. The band now was undertaking a different style of music, as a trumpeter was in the band. As a result, the band is attempting the Stevie Wonder classic, Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

"Okay, lead's fixed. Give us an A, Asuka," The vocalist ordered. Asuka complied and plonked a finger on an A, eyes still averting the cameraman, while the bassist and the trumpeter tuned their corresponding instruments. "Alright, let's give this a shot," The drummer tapped a four beat pulse of the tempo before launching the piece. The signature trumpet rundown sounded the start of this famous piece. Asuka and the bassist accompanied the trumpet with chords and pedal notes.

"Like a fool I went and stayed too long," The vocalist sung the first line of the song expertly, as if she wrote the song herself. "Now I'm wondering if your love's still strong,"

"Oooh baby," The vocalist and Asuka harmonized. "Here I am, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm yours." The trumpet rundown from the start played once again.

"Then that time I went and said goodbye ("Oooooooh" sung by both Asuka and the bassist under the main vocal). Now I'm back and not ashamed to cry. Ooooh baby, here I am, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm yours," Asuka took the opportunity to perform a two bar solo, reminding the company that there's still a keyboard in this band. The vocalist spared a glance at Asuka and winked, approving the impromptu keyboard work.

"Here I am baby -" The vocalist stopped. "Signed, Sealed, Deliver…" Asuka and the bassist's harmony started strongly on the next line, only to realize that the vocalist wasn't with them that time.

"Someone was off," The vocalist stated, causing Asuka and the bassist to glance at each other, while the drummer bore a look of confusion, not that familiar with slight tonal differences. "Asuka, give us the chord we're singing," In reply, Asuka played the Ab Major chord, the singers taking their respectful notes. After being familiar with what they were supposed to sing, the band started up again from the beginning of the chorus. The rest of the practice remained uneventful, going through the song until it was stuck in everyone's heads.

**After practice**

"Asuka, what's wrong?" Steve asked.

"Huh?" Asuka replied dumbly, as her mind was definitely somewhere else instead of in the supposed conversation her and Steve were having at a café. "Well, I – uhh…well, I just, umm…have Signed Sealed Delivered stuck in my head," Asuka concluded after searching her brain for a liable explanation. "That song is mighty catchy, heh heh," If not for the uncertain chuckle at the end, it would've passed for an excuse, which Asuka mentally slapped herself for.

"You've been acting weirdly for a while now…" Steve stated, making Asuka avert her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I was just…well, thinking about something," Asuka answered, hoping the half truth would be sufficient.

"You mean someone?" Steve asked, disappointment evident in his voice. Asuka's eyes widened and opened her mouth to counter. "Don't try to deny it," Asuka closed her mouth and looked down at her empty plate with guilt. "Listen…" Steve reached over with his right hand and classed Asuka's left hand which was resting on the table. Asuka steeled her nerves and looked back up at Steve. "You know how I feel about you, so it's up to you whether you want to…you know, _do_ anything or not?" Steve mumbled, clearly not something he talked about on a regular basis. Asuka's eyes said it all. He eased his right hand off of hers and faced away from her.

"Steve, I'm really sorry…" Asuka said with genuine guilt. "I really do like you. You're a wonderful friend…but, just a friend, okay?"

"Yeah, that's cool." Steve said a little too quickly, still not facing Asuka. "I mean, who wouldn't wanna befriendswith me…I'm a_ friendly _guy…" He said a little bitterly, taking Asuka by surprise. Steve sighed. "But that's all I'll ever be…" He added glumly.

"That's not true. You would make a PERFECT boyfriend…but, you need the perfect girlfriend to match and I'm just not the right person." Asuka said, reaching over and grasping his hand. "You WILL find her, okay?" Steve smiled.

"Thanks Asuka, I needed that,"

"No worries, it's what I do best," Asuka added with a carefree smile.

**At roughly the same time**

"Rehearsal was great today! I've FINALLY got my chance to shine! Up til now we were playing all these random songs that aren't quite saxophone friendly but now I've got this mega big slot to finally show off my skills!" Julia was going on about how she's been finally given the chance to rise up in the competition to Hwoarang while the two were walking around the mall. However, Hwoarang's mind wasn't fully paying attention to her ecstatic thoughts about showing her true colours.

" - Hwoarang? Are you even listening?" Julia asked, the thought coming to her after talking for five minutes without even a peep out of Hwoarang.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I was listening," Hwoarang quickly dismissed the subject. "Something about reeds, right?" Julia sighed.

"…just 'cause I play the saxophone, doesn't mean that everything I talk about is reed related," Julia said, sounding like she was saying it for the millionth time. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Hwoarang asked, trying to sound as clueless as he could.

"Asuka. You've got to try and get over her, she's with someone else," Julia stated. Hwoarang turned his attention to his feet as they walked through the mall.

"You don't know that…" Hwoarang mumbled, eyes still glued to the floor.

"I don't believe this. Are you _waiting_ for something to happen?" Julia asked incredulously. Hwoarang shrugged in response.

"That guy she hangs out with is just a friend of hers," Hwoarang added, looking back at Julia. "Really sorry Julia, but I reckon we should just stay friends. Kinda got my sights set on someone else." Julia looked as though she had just been slapped in the face. "Well, I've gotta head off. I'll catch up with you later, kay?" With that, Hwoarang headed towards the car park, leaving Julia standing in front of Foodtown, mouth agape.

**A/N: ACK! That didn't turn out as good as I planned…might take a while to get back into the flow of writing stuffs…LOL! Foodtown…as u may have well guessed, it's a place where u buy groceries and stuff. At a mall here, Foodtown is like on the lower floor and its right next to the carpark, which I have obviously based this mall off, haha!**

**BUTTTT! Yeah, u can trust me, I am SERIOUSLY dying to finish this fic so there probably might be just one more chapter! Thanks to EVERYONE who has read this and even bothered reviewing it even when it hasn't been updated and u probably had to dig thru pages and pages of old fanfics to find this :P U have my eternal gratitude :D**


	19. Finale

**A/N: Howdy peoples! I think its bout time I finished this fic. Its been three, count em, THREE YEARS now!! I'm starting university in a couple of weeks now so I think it be best if I rounded this fic up. Man, reading thru the early chapters again, I feel like I need to rewrite them coz theyr SO BAD! But it really shows my development as a writer.**** Thanks for giving this fic a chance! You have my gratitude, and I hope this final chapter will do justice to the chapters that made you continue to read this in the first place =D=D Oh, and I don't own the songs portrayed in this chapter.  
**

**Chapter 19: Finale**

The final distorted strum marked the end of the song as the vocalists' last note carried on; the stage lights slowly fading. A thunderous roar erupted from the crowd at the jam packed theatre venue of the Band Fusion Final as the first of the two remaining bands concluded their rendition of the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' hit Your Guardian Angel.

"WOOOOOHH – Ow!" Christie cheered, which quickly followed by a sharp jab from Lili's elbow to the ribs. "What the heck was that for?"

"Cheering for the enemy?" Lili questioned jokingly, jerking her head towards her right, where Asuka sat. Asuka smiled and shook her head.

"She's allowed to like the other band, Lili," Asuka said. "But you better cheer twice as hard with the next band," she added, receiving a big grin from Christie.

"Oh, you bet I will!" At that moment, an aerial camera made its way overhead to show the viewers at home the scale of the audience present for this final showdown. "Quick, wave hi to Xiao and Miharu," Christie said, waving at the aerial camera. The other two complied without hesitation, mimicking Christie's actions. Miharu's major chess tournament was looming so she opted to stay at home to scrape the rust off her abilities, while Xiaoyu had fallen sick in the last week so she settled for watching the final on TV.

After this, the stage lights came back on and Dom strolled onto the stage with microphone in hand.

"Wow. That was an INCREDIBLE performance!" Dom praised the band, the crowd roaring in agreement. He approached the lead guitarist in the band, who along with the other musicians was soaking up their applause. "How did you think that went?"

"I thought that went pretty well. Hopefully it's enough to win us the competition." The guitarist commented, the other band members either smiling or nodding their approval of the statement.

"Well, how did YOU think they went?" Dom now addressed the question to the audience. They responded by erupting in cheer, waving their hand-made signs of favoured musicians. "Well, we're gonna take a break but we still have one more band to come and perform for you, so don't go away!" Dom spoke into the camera lens before another pan shot of the ecstatic audience introduced the commercials on TV. At this moment, the curtain started to close behind Dom to shield the band packing up and the next band setting up.

**Meanwhile, backstage**

Hwoarang peeped through the wings, soaking up the size of the audience he was about to perform for. For the first time in a long, _long, _time, he felt nerves gather in the pit of his stomach. He looked down at his acoustic guitar and fingered through his part. _I really hope this goes well…_

"Yo, Hwoarang!" The drummer of his group called out, pulling Hwoarang back down to reality. "We need to set up now. It's the ad break."

"Right," Hwoarang replied, and strode towards the stage shielded by the curtain to set up.

**Back out front**

"Alright, welcome to the Band Fusion final! Now if you've just joined us, the first band has performed but you're just in time for the last performance of the night. The band isn't quite ready yet, so let's see what the judges think of the night so far," He cast his eyes further up to the Judging Panel, who sat at a desk, embedded in the middle of the movie theatre-style seating "Let's start with you, Paul," Dom stated, gesturing towards the panel.

"Well, I've got to say that I'm impressed with the quality of musicians that are still in the competition. If I had to pick out who was gonna make it to the final from the first day, I don't think I would've picked this group of musicians," At this stage, a few boo's were aimed at Paul. "Let me finish," After the boo's had subsided, Paul continued. "It shows how much each individual has grown during this competition and no matter what happens tonight, it was a great achievement to make it this far." This statement earned Paul back brownie points with the audience, receiving a cheer for his statement.

"Yeah, going with what Paul said, the quality of these musicians grew throughout the competition," Eddy added, leaning coolly back in his seat. "There are some musicians in this bunch that are destined for greatness. Even if they do not win the competition, they would definitely make it in the music industry," The audience accepted his comments and responded with a vigorous cheer.

"Anything to say, Nina?" Dom asked once the volume of the audience decreased.

"Having this competition has paid off. I have a feeling the winning band will become huge in the industry," A hearty round of applause agreed with Nina's statement, including whistling, cheering and just plain screaming.

"Good to see that the judges have such high hopes of our contestants," Dom said. He plugged a finger in his ear as news from backstage was passed onto him. "Okay, it seems like the band is ready now, so put your hands together for the second finalist!" Following this, Dom jogged offstage and the curtains parted to show the second band, ready to play for their futures.

Hwoarang stood there with his acoustic guitar, flinching slightly from the bright lights that shone on him. He scanned the audience looking for a familiar face, but the audience was one big black blur. He saw a few signs that were made for him, which inflated his ego slightly. _Alright, the ladies love me, _Hwoarang thought to himself. The vocalist looked back at Hwoarang to start off the piece. Hwoarang nodded and began playing the acoustic intro to a song known by many, accompanied by a simple bass line by the bassist. Upon hearing this, the crowd cheered ecstatically. The vocalist began singing:

"This time, this place. Misused, mistakes. Too long, too late. Who was I to make you wait?" The drums came in at this point.

"Just one chance, just one breath. Just in case there's just one left. 'Cause you know, you know, you KNOW!" The crash of the cymbal launched the song into the chorus, with Hwoarang and the other guitarist providing vocal harmonies.

"I love you; I've loved you all along. And I miss you. We're far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you, anymore!" There was a pause in the music as the last strums faded. Then Hwoarang's acoustic line started up again to lead the song into the second verse.

"On my knees, I'll ask. Last chance for one last dance. 'Cause with you, I'd withstand all of it to hold your hand. I'll give it all, I'd give for us, give anything but I won't give up. 'Cause you know, you know, you KNOW!"

"I love you; I've loved you all along. And I miss you; we're far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore!" The texture thinned out, leaving just Hwoarang's picking and the drums.

"So far away, far away for far too long. So Far away, far away for far too long," The vocalist sang, with the other guitarist echoing his words.

"But you know, you know, you KNOW!"

"I wanted; I wanted you to stay. 'Cause I needed; I need to hear you say," There was a key change. "I loved you," The vocalist sang a tone higher. "I've loved you all along. And I forgive you, for being away for far too long. So keep breathing 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold onto me and never let me go. Keep breathing 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it, hold onto me and let me GO!"

"Keep breathing," Hwoarang and the bassist harmonised.

"Hold onto me and never let me go," One final acoustic strum form Hwoarang marked the end of the song. The audience released their bottled up enthusiasm which was held tight during the performance in the form of vigorous cheering. Dom came back on stage and the sheer amount of applause was surprising. He let out an impressed whistle over the microphone.

"And the crowd goes wild," he joked as he approached the bassist in the group. "So that went well, huh?" He asked rhetorically, but allowed the bassist to answer anyway.

"I think the response speaks for itself," The bassist replied confidently, gesturing to the crowd.

"Well, you know the drill. Vote for your favourite to decide the winner of the competition."

**Later**

"Alright, the votes are in," Dom announced to the audience and the 8 extremely nervous musicians on stage. "I have the name of the winner in my hands," Dom held up a piece of cardboard. At this, the crowd exploded with cheers.

"For four of you, your lives will change forever," Dom continued, playing out the anticipation.

"The winner is…" The crowd fell silent in an instant. The pin-drop silence was so thick it was almost suffocating. Asuka was on the edge of her seat. Hwoarang and his band members had their arms around each other; closing their eyes in anticipation.

"…Band number 2, who performed Far Away!" Asuka, Christie and Lili immediately leapt out of their seat and started screaming and whistling, along with the rest of the audience. Hwoarang and his band members couldn't believe it. They jumped up and down and gave each other a group hug, as well as hugging the members of the other band. Dom presented the winning band with a golden trophy which had an electric guitar and a microphone stand to symbolize victory. Hwoarang grabbed the trophy and held it high and proud, with the rest of the band members squishing him from both sides.

"Let's hear it for the winners of the first ever Band Fusion competition!" Time seemed to slow down for Hwoarang as he soaked up the reality of the situation. _We won…we actually won…I'll get to work as a professional musician, like, for real!_

**After the show, backstage**

"I say this victory calls for celebration!" The drummer announced loudly, earning grunts and cheers of approval from his fellow band members. "I say we head down to a bar and have a round of drinks, on me!" The cheers of approval were louder this time, knowing that they wouldn't be paying for the drinks.

"I'm gonna have to pass, guys." Hwoarang said to his new band.

"Where are you going?" The bassist asked the Korean youth.

"I got someone I need to see," The musicians responded with a chorus of Oooooooohh's and kissy faces, making Hwoarang roll his eyes.

"Gonna have a celebratory make out with the missus, aye?" The other guitarist teased, nudging him in the ribs.

"Get lost. I'll catch up with you later," Hwoarang replied, slinging his guitar case over his shoulder and making his way off the stage. As Hwoarang walked away, he could hear the group say "He didn't deny it!" followed by another chorus of Oooooooh's. Hwoarang rolled his eyes at his drunk-on-life band members and made his way off stage.

Hwoarang searched the crowd outside the building, getting stopped by fans and asked to autograph and take pictures along the way. Soon, he came across a familiar face, but not one he thought he would see here.

"Kazama?!" Hwoarang exclaimed as Asuka's older brother came striding towards him. "Look, I'm not in the mood for another fight-"

"I'm not here to fight you," Jin cut off Hwoarang, which caught the redhead by surprise.

"Then what are you doing here?" Hwoarang asked, fist at the ready in case the Japanese youth's temper flares.

"To pick up my sister," Jin said calmly. Hwoarang released the tension in his fist.

"Oh…well, I haven't seen her yet, so – "

"Look, I guess I should accept the fact that you're always gonna be in my sister's life," Jin cut off Hwoarang again, once again taking him by surprise.

"So I'm giving you a second chance to prove to me that you have changed from the self centred megalomaniac you used to be back when we were teenagers," Hwoarang stared at Jin with a questioned look.

"Okay, I'm not sure what megalomaniac means, but I am not the person I used to be back then. You can definitely trust me on that," Hwoarang assured. "I'll protect your sis,"

"Glad we have an understanding then," Jin held out a hand. Hwoarang took it and the two shook hands. But just when Hwoarang was about to let go, Jin tightened his grip. He pulled himself closer to Hwoarang to make sure that Hwoarang heard everything that Jin was about to say.

"But if you do _anything _to hurt her, even in the most trivial way, you _will _pay. Got that?" Jin hissed, the murderous intent almost coming through in his voice. The old Hwoarang would've wanted to challenge Jin's threat, but he knew better than that now. Instead he smiled.

"Don't worry 'bout it. She'll be fine." Jin released his grip on Hwoarang's throbbing hand. Hwoarang kept his facial expressions relaxed to not inform Jin that he was in pain. At that moment, a familiar voice called out above the crowd.

"JIN!" Asuka was sprinting towards the pair and quickly got in between them. "Hwoarang didn't do anything, please don't hurt him!" Asuka faced her brother and said in a panic.

"Chill out, Asuka. Me and him are cool now," Hwoarang said calmly, causing Asuka to turn around and look at him disbelievingly. She turned back to see her brother and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we had a little talk. Its okay now…for the time bei-OOF!" before Jin could finish, Asuka wrapped her arms around her brother.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She released her brother and looked between them. "It means so much that you guys can get along now,"

"Well, what's in the past stays in the past," Hwoarang stated, earning a nod of approval from Jin.

"Well, I suppose you're not gonna need a ride home then?" Jin asked Asuka. Asuka looked up and Hwoarang and then back at her brother.

"Nah, I think I'm good. But you might need to give Christie and Miharu a ride home," Jin raised a 'you expect me to do that' eyebrow. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! You can go home, Jin."

"Okay then, don't stay out too late. Take care of her," with that, Jin left for the car park.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Asuka turned around to face Hwoarang. "You got my brother's trust,"

"Well, I'm not sure I would say he trusts me," Hwoarang looked up at the retreating figure of Jin. "More like, 'you're off the hook…for now'," he added jokingly, sparking a chuckle from Asuka.

"You know, I don't think I properly congratulated you for tonight," Asuka wrapped her arms around Hwoarang's neck, stood on tiptoes, closed her eyes and lightly kissed him on his lips. "Congrats," Asuka whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at him; her sweet smile infecting Hwoarang's features with a smile of his own.

"That's the best congratulations I've ever gotten," Hwoarang said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a more passionate kiss.

"Let's get out of here," Hwoarang said when the two broke off. "Do you think your friends are still here?"

"Nah, I think they've gone home. Let's go." With that, the two walked towards the car park: Hwoarang's arm around her shoulder and Asuka's arm around his waist.

**Meanwhile in the bushes**

"Awwwwwww, our little Suki has finally grown up!" Lili mused, watching the new couple kiss.

"Let me see!" Christie shoved Lili out of the way to view the private moment, and she too mimicked Lili's reaction.

"So there is a happy ending after all." Lili peeped above Christie's head.

"I want my happy ending!" Christie whined after realising the truth.

"We will find out happy endings one day, Christie," Lili soothed, the realisation dawning on her too. "Hey, they're going! Have they forgotten about us?!" Lili said with outrage.

"Who _was_ supposed to give us a ride home in the first place?" The pair looked at each other with evident panic.

"We should've thought this through,"

**A/N: Haha I thought I'd end with some slight comic relief, hehe. But WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH! FINALLY! I believe is NOWWW COMPLETE!! Wow, it feels good to finally finish this. This has been the fic I've been most guilty about not finishing, but now IT IS! Man, it took SO long to do this chapter, like a bit of last night and practically the whole day today so I'm REALLY hoping that it wasn't a lamo ending for u guys! ****There hav been a couple of people that have inspired me to keep this fic going:**

**XJ/Dynasty101: You have supported this fic from the very beginning and I can't thank you enough for continuing to read and review this fic. **

**KapsuleCorp: Your reviews hav kicked me in the butt in the last few chapters and I am EXTREMELY thankful for that. Hope u like this last chap! (if u still read this :P)  
**

**Once again, thanks to EVERYONE who gave this fic a chance and read it through to the last chapter. It means the world to me and I will always be thankful. Please review!**


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